As the virus threatens to get out of hand, New Zealand plans to strengthen its COVID-19 regulations and distribute freer masks and fast antigen tests.
In order to combat an outbreak that is resulting in more than 11,000 new cases per day, Covid-19 Response Minister Ayesha Verrall is anticipated to make the announcements on Thursday.
To encourage more people to test and isolate themselves if they are found to have the disease, the decision to distribute more RATs was made.
Only people who test positive for the disease, who have been close household contacts, who are recent immigrants, and vital workers are currently eligible for free RATs.
Covid warnings in New Zealand are rated using a “traffic light” system; at the moment, the country is on Orange.
This means that while they are encouraged to “protect vulnerable people,” Kiwis are required to wear masks in many indoor situations but otherwise free to go about their daily lives.
The ‘Red’ setting of Covid restrictions, which is the most stringent, has not yet been declared by the government as the country’s future course.
Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister, urged people to exercise caution by wearing masks, getting booster shots, and isolating themselves if they had the illness.
She claimed that the procedures were simple.
If you have COVID-19, “(isolate) because that significantly lowers the infection rates of others,” she said.
“Isolating your family from the outside world is equally crucial.” usage of a mask and immunization.
These three factors will affect our figures in a significant way.
They are significantly more critical than the additional step of gathering limits, which won’t have the same effect in this climate, and are the things we should be doing right away.
Ms. Varells would present additional steps on Thursday, according to Ms. Ardern, who was speaking from the Pacific Island Forum in Fiji.
Because wastewater testing revealed a wider incidence than was stated, health authorities are worried that many COVID-19 cases are not being discovered.
On Wednesday, 11,464 new cases of COVID were reported in the community in New Zealand, and 29 people died as a result of COVID.
Community cases have a rolling seven-day average of 9710 cases compared to 7591 at this time last week.
In the neighbourhood, there were 67,926 active cases.
Community cases could reach 20,000 in the upcoming weeks, according to 19 modelers, which would certainly result in many more deaths.
According to Dr. Michael Plank, the nation was “certainly in a second wave,” which was taxing the nation’s medical infrastructure.
It could turn out to be extremely serious. The health system was already under pressure from winter illnesses and the flu, so the sharp increase in hospitalizations is worrying,’ he said.
Mask use, according to Dr. Plank, will continue to be essential for bending the outbreak’s curve.
‘I think many areas have lost the tradition, but we are probably still better at using masks here,’ he said.
Masks will be essential for flattening the wave, which is not to imply that there isn’t potential for improvement.