RNZ, Wellington, March 27, 2020
There have been 85 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, with one person now in intensive care, the Health Ministry confirmed at 1 pm today.
As the country is in its second day of the Covid-19 lockdown, government officials are providing the latest health and national response updates.
Director General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said that there are now 368 cases in New Zealand.
He said that while 37 individuals have recovered, there are eight people in hospital, six of whom are stable and two who are not.
One in ICU
One is in intensive care in Nelson Hospital and had been there for several days, before deteriorating in the past 24 hours.
Dr Bloomfield said that person was on a ventilator and had underlying health conditions.
The other person not in a stable condition is in Wellington Regional Hospital. Dr Bloomfield said they were still on the ward, but the condition was “not quite so stable.”
Those who have recovered from Covid-19 are signed off by a health official after being symptom free for a 14 day period
More than 2500 retired health workers have signed up to help with the Covid-19 response, he said.
Incidents of non-compliance
Director of Civil Defence Emergency Management Sarah Stuart-Black while most people were complying with the lockdown, there were several incidents of people gathering and police responded to those.
She said that these measures are the best thing New Zealanders could do to break the chain of infections.
“We know that things are really tough right now, especially for people living with mental illness,” she said and recommended sticking to a regular routine including exercise.
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.
Published under a Special Agreement with www.rnz.co.nz
