News
Ministry of Health has confirmed the first Invercargill case of Coronavirus, the person returned from overseas and has been quarantined.
No need to panic, use common sense and good hygiene practices!!
UPDATE: Invercargill’s case is one of eight new cases confirmed by the Ministry on (today) Wednesday 18th March. The total number of Covid-19 cases in New Zealand is now 20.
Sources have confirmed the person works at Findex Invercargill and staff were sent home and self isolate.
It brings the total of confirmed cases in New Zealand to 20.
Speaking at the latest media conference, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said there are four new cases in Auckland, one in Christchurch, two in Waikato and one in Invercargill.
The infected person in Invercargill travelled from overseas, Ministry of Health’s director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said.
Some of the new cases have come from Europe, Australia and the USA.
He said details for each of these cases, including flight information, will be revealed on the Ministry of Health website
“We expected more cases and it’s most important that we identify, that we test and isolate cases and close contacts to ensure that we prevent further community spread.”
Watch the media update below, starts at 12:12
As Covid-19 spreads around the world, it can be daunting keeping up with the information. For RNZ and What’s On Invers, 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.
Infectious diseases expert Michael Baker this morning called for New Zealand to close all schools until testing could confirm there was no widespread community transmission.
The government is spending an additional $5 million on increasing testing capacity for the Covid-19 coronavirus as part of its $500m spend to tackle the impact of the virus on the health system.
- If you have symptoms of the coronavirus, call the NZ Covid-19 Healthline on 0800 358 5453 (+64 9 358 5453 for international SIMs)