April 08, 2020
No case for complacency as virus cases trend down
A member of the national Māori pandemic response group says he’s nervous but optimistic about the trend in numbers of those catching COVID-19.
There were just 50 new cases today, 26 confirmed and 24 probable, bringing the total for New Zealand to 1210.
Many were in existing clusters, with there being 84 cases in the Marist College cluster, the same number in Matamata and 81 in the Bluff wedding cluster.
Dr Rawiri Jansen says it looks like the country is getting into a good position to eliminate the coronavirus, but vigilance is needed.
"For me, it’s a nervous few days still going forward because any one of those current cases, there could be a little outburst somewhere and if it's in a community where there is lots of crowding you can imagine that might pop up in a household with quite a number of people and perhaps they are connected to another household with a lot of people, so it could pop out in ways we have got to be really really careful," he says.
The Health Ministry has released data on the number of healthcare workers with COVID-19.
Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield told today’s briefing they included 20 support and care workers in either hospitals or community care, 17 nurses, 7 administrative staff, 7 doctors and 3 medical students.
Around a quarter had travelled back from overseas, and the ministry is working on the remaining cases to determine if the coronavirus was caught at work or outside it.
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