An interesting thought for these timesđ¤
Now, in these times of chaos, sadness, loneliness and uncertainty, so many of us have and will continue to have strong opinions, one way or another.
Now, as you all may have gathered from previous posts of mine, I'm all of getting vaccinated to lessen the symptoms that are the nightmares we all called Covid (or Delta).
I would love it if everyone got vaccinated, however, that's never going to happen.
While I may not agree with the anti- vaxers or the people who choose not to get vaccinated (not including those who have medical conditions), I do respect your choice as I would like to think you would respect mine to get vaccinated.
Here in the Pacific region of the Southern Hemisphere, certain parts of Australia have risen in continuous protests on their streets, N.S.W. & Victoria. Sadly the latest rounds in Victoria are against the mandate to force the building sector to get vaccinated otherwise they aren't allowed on site.
I've been thinking of what compromise would there to be to not hinder what is essentially an essential business.
And then it came to me. Italy, just last week, has laid down a new law for these trying times and is due to take effect on 15 October 2021.
It's a great compromise to both sides of the fence of vaccinations.
What the Italian government have done is they've adopted one of the strictest Covid measures in the world last week, requiring all public and private sector workers to have a vaccination certificate, a negative coronavirus test or a certificate that they have recently recovered from the infection.
The goal of the move is to persuade people to get vaccinated and reduce the infection in one of the most affected countries by the coronavirus pandemic.
However, I personally believe that this is a great compromise for those who will not or cannot vaccinate - just provide a negative Covid test.
Apparently, a worker who won't be able to present a valid health certificate will be suspended without pay but cannot be fired.
Those who ignore the ordinance and come to work without any of the required certificates will be fined between 600 and 1,500 euros.
The idea of Covid certification was initially related to travel, but Italy very quickly started to apply it to places like museums, gyms and the interior of restaurants.
Although there have been protests against the measures in recent weeks, most political parties as well as major employers' associations have backed them, hoping there will be no further closures of the economy.
Italy, after Britain, has the most coronavirus-positive deaths in Europe, more than 130,000 since the start of the pandemic.
About 74 percent of 60 million people received at least the first dose, and about 68 percent were fully vaccinated.
As I said, it was just an interesting thought I had spinning around in my head.
SHED MATTERS : DIY Group West Auckland
An Invitation to attend meeting to set up Ladies & Mens Shed in our local area.
Monday December 2nd 7pm
Blockhouse Bay Community Center
524 Blockhouse Bay Rd
Poll: Do you think NZ should ban social media for youth?
The Australian Prime Minister has expressed plans to ban social media use for children.
This would make it illegal for under 16-year-olds to have accounts on platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X.
Social media platforms would be tasked with ensuring children have no access (under-age children and their parents wouldnât be penalised for breaching the age limit)
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Do you think NZ should follow suit? Vote in our poll and share your thoughts below.
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84.5% Yes
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14.1% No
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?
Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.