COVID-19 and MSD
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On Tuesday 15 August 2023 the Government announced the removal of all remaining COVID-19 public health requirements.
This ends MSD’s Care in Community welfare response to COVID-19. People impacted by COVID-19 needing ongoing assistance can call us on 0800 559 009 or visit Work and Income COVID-19 support.
MSD acknowledges the hard work and commitment of all our communities and our provider and agency partners in responding to the pandemic. Ngā mihi nui - it’s been an incredibly long and hard road along which we learnt a lot about how we can work together more effectively for the benefit of our communities. Lessons we know we can confidently take into the future.
During the time the Care in the Community welfare response was in place, MSD allocated over $325m to partners, iwi, service providers and community groups across Aotearoa New Zealand. This funding enabled 500 Community Connectors and 223 Community Food providers to carry out their mahi. Over 1.3 million food parcels were distributed to people in self isolation, while Connectors supported more than 300,000 households. MSD also arranged the distribution of over five million face masks.
Who our community providers were
Local community organisations, including iwi and Pacific organisations, worked tirelessly with the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) to support people who needed extra support during and after self-isolating. Different providers offered different kinds of help, like food deliveries or support for Māori whānau and Pacific people.
For the Care in Community welfare response, we created an interactive map of Community Connectors and Food Providers around New Zealand to help providers, iwi and communities identify organisations that could support people in and after self-isolation.
Community Connectors have been critical to the COVID-19 pandemic response since they were set up in June 2020. The Community Connection Service continues to provide support for people impacted by COVID-19 and also by other emergency situations which may arise, for example the devastating North Island weather events.
This map shows who these organisations were, their locations and the services they provided.
Note: this map is not accessible to screen readers.
The data is also provided as a text alternative.
Your health
The Ministry of Health remains the Government agency leading future response to COVID-19. They are always the first port of call for health and status information.
Support for individuals and communities
We may be able to provide financial support if you are struggling to meet your costs. We have help available for individuals and employers. Every situation is different so please contact us to talk about your situation.
COVID-19 wage subsidies - Employer Search
You can search for companies that have received:
- COVID-19 Wage Subsidy
- Wage Subsidy Extension
- Resurgence Wage Subsidy
- COVID-19 Wage Subsidy March 2021 payments, or
- COVID-19 Wage Subsidy August 2021.
COVID-19 evaluation
The Care in the Community welfare response presented a unique opportunity for MSD to learn from and continuously improve how we partner and deliver welfare support in crises. We designed a real-time evaluation - a rapid approach to data collection - that collected and used information to inform organisational decision-making in real time.
