This article by RNZ.co.nz is published with permission under Kaniva News partnerships with Radio New Zealand.
As Covid-19 spreads around the world, it can be daunting keeping up with the information. For RNZ, our responsibility is to give you verified, up to the minute, trustworthy information to help you make decisions about your lives and your health. We’ll also be asking questions of officials and decision makers about how they’re responding to the virus. Our aim is to keep you informed.
The Director-General of Health says there are 18 new and confirmed cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand today, bringing the total number of cases to 1330.
Watch Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield provide an update at a media conference:
Yesterday, there were 29 new confirmed and probable cases, bringing the total cases in the country to 1312, while two more deaths were announced. Both of the deaths were linked to an identified cluster.
The deaths include a man in his 80s who died at Wellington Hospital and a man in his 70s who died at Burwood Hospital in Christchurch.
There have been no additional deaths today.
Fourteen people are in hospital, including five in Intensive Care Units, one of which is in critical condition.
An additional 49 people have recovered, bringing the total number of recovered people to 471.
Bloomfield said the Ministry of Health and district health boards have been working closely with aged care residential facilities on Covid-19 for some time.
He said he wrote to DHBs yesterday asking them to systematically assess all residential care providers in their areas and their plans for protecting staff and residents, including a stocktake of Personal Protection Equipment.
Five cases in the Spectrum Care cluster were staff numbers, he said, and there was no need for concern among people who used services provided by Spectrum. The total number of cases in the cluster is 28.
Healthline has reported that some of the people calling have quite serious symptoms, and Bloomfield said people should not hesitate to call their own GP and seek medical attention in a timely manner.
Globally, there have been more than 1.6 million confirmed cases, with the death toll surpassing 106,000, according to Reuters.
More to come…
- If you have symptoms of the coronavirus, call the NZ Covid-19 Healthline on 0800 358 5453 (+64 9 358 5453 for international SIMs) or call your GP – don’t show up at a medical centre
Read more about the Covid-19 coronavirus:
- See all RNZ Covid-19 news
- Your Covid-19 questions answered – from health and jobs to keeping anxiety in check
- A timeline: How the coronavirus started, spread and stalled life in New Zealand
- Covid-19 symptoms: What they are and how they make you feel
- Touching your Face: Why do we do it and how to stop
- Scientific hand-washing advice to avoid infection
- Coronavirus: A glossary of terms
- The Coronavirus Podcast
