Even the strictest measures in the world were not enough to stop the Corona virus. Authorities in New Zealand on Wednesday evening local time confirmed at least three new cases.
The minister in charge of fighting the epidemic, Chris Hepkins, confirms to RNZ that “many positive tests” have been carried out in the past 24 hours. Tests show that it is the delta virus that is spreading.
Most of those infected are in their twenties.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern imposed a total lockdown on Tuesday after the country’s first case of coronary heart disease in six months was discovered in the city of Auckland.
The government is sticking to its strategy of “hard hitting and early beating. It has saved the population and the economy from heavy burdens so far.
The positive test resulted in Auckland being shut down completely for a week. The same applies to Coromandel, a coastal town the affected person was visiting over the weekend.
You should stay at home
In the rest of the country, the government introduced a three-day lockdown at level 4.
This means that people should stay at home and only go out to perform vital chores. A face mask should always be worn outside the home.
The best we can do is get out of this as fast as we can, is hit hard. “We’ve decided it’s better to work hard and step aside than to go out cautiously and allow the virus to spread quickly,” Ardern said.
Only about 20 percent of the population is fully vaccinated. But with some of the world’s strictest infection control measures – the country has practically been closed off to foreigners since the pandemic – the country can point to perhaps the best stats in the world:
The last reported case of Covid was in February. New Zealand has fewer than 30 deaths as a result of covid-19. In total, about 3,000 citizens tested positive. So the island kingdom of 5 million people easily escaped the epidemic.
– See what’s going on elsewhere
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern recently said it was possible for the country to open up again. But those plans were soon put in the drawer when a positive test became known.
We’ve seen elsewhere what could happen if we weren’t in control. We only have one chance, Ardern said in a televised statement.
It was a 58-year-old man from Auckland who tested positive for the virus. He may have carried the infection since he and his wife visited Coromandel this weekend.
All new infections are associated with men. One of them is a fully vaccinated nurse. Another high school teacher in Auckland.
He was in a popular bar
Prime Minister Ardern told a news conference on Wednesday evening local time that residents should expect an increase in the number of infected people in the future.
The background is that the infected man visited a number of public places, that the Delta virus was spreading quickly, and that the man visited a popular destination and a bar that attracts people from many places in the country.
wrote last week Financial Times About the impatience of employers. They believe current rules that even fully vaccinated people must be quarantined for two weeks make it difficult to hire employees for important jobs.
Midwives can no longer afford it
The pandemic has also had consequences all the way to New Zealand’s maternity wards. The health service depends on guest workers. Thus, the fact that the country’s borders have been closed since the outbreak of the epidemic has led to major problems.
Midwives and other health workers work very hard. Many claim that it no longer works.
In the media, the status of midwives is given special attention. Short-term downtime has affected mothers in several places. Earlier in August, six health districts had to cancel cesarean sections due to strikes.
When a new patient with coronavirus emerged, New Zealand midwives called off the strike.
Midwifery shortages are not new in New Zealand. Poor pay for hard work makes it difficult to attract students to long education.
Therefore, the authorities relied on guest workers. This strategy is based on allowing foreign health workers to enter the country. At the moment, no one knows when New Zealand will reopen its borders to the outside world.
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