Covid-19 coronavirus: Auckland becomes the last center to receive randomized testing

LAST VIRUSES
* Almost 2.3 million cases worldwide, with 157,000 deaths: in NZ, there were only 13 new cases on Saturday, with 544 active cases overall
* What to do and not to do in level 3: a guide back to basics
* Can your child return to school below level 3? Ministry publishes new information
* Heather du Plessis-Allan: it’s a great call tomorrow
* Last decision and essential information

The government is beefing up its Covid-19 random testing regimen, expanding the initiative to Auckland as it prepares to make a decision on reducing the blocking restrictions.

The cabinet tomorrow will make the long-awaited call on whether or not New Zealand will exit level 4 this week.

It occurs when the number of worldwide deaths from Covid 19 exceeds 157,000 with another 550 deaths in a 24-hour period in New York. There have been almost 2.3 million coronavirus cases worldwide, with more than 700,000 cases in the United States, the highest number of any country.

But on the eve of New Zealand’s closure decision, the data shows that the number of new Covid-19 cases remains low in this country.

READ MORE:
• Covid-19 Coronavirus: 13 new cases in New Zealand, no more deaths
• Covid 19 coronavirus: more residents of the Te Atatu rest home moved to Waitākere Hospital
• Coronavirus Covid 19: the police warn the buyer of a supermarket Timaru infected with virus
• Covid 19 coronavirus: a woman spits on Auckland Transport workers in Britomart

However, questions have been raised about the government’s surveillance system with people who say it is outdated, even describing it as a “dinosaur”.

The Government’s ability to locate contacts will be a key part of the Ministers’ thinking when the Cabinet meets tomorrow.

The Health Ministry confirmed yesterday that there were 13 new cases of Covid-19 throughout the country.

No deaths were reported and the ministry confirmed that 867 people have so far been recovered, 51 more than Friday’s figure.

There are a total of 1,422 confirmed and probable cases of Covid-19 across the country.

To get a better picture of New Zealand’s position, the Government has increased its randomized testing regime to include the country’s largest city: Auckland.

The tests began yesterday at 8 a.m. in two supermarkets in the region, the ministry revealed.

The goal, authorities said, is to collect 150 swabs at both sites.

A ministry spokeswoman said Auckland DHB had agreed not to disclose which supermarkets the tests were being conducted in, aside from the fact that the chain had a presence in Mangere and Henderson.

The randomized testing at the sites was only for one day, the spokeswoman confirmed.

The data officials they can obtain from the sites will be critical to the government’s shutdown decision.

The randomized test, according to Public Health Director Caroline McElnay, will help provide a “general picture” of the extent of community broadcasting, which remains low across the country.

Auckland is the last city or region for randomized Covid-19 testing.

The directed test scheme is already underway in Queenstown, Waikato and Canterbury. And so far he looks optimistic.

All tests processed at the Queenstown supermarket site yielded a negative result.

In Waikato, 308 people were evaluated in Otorohanga, Hamilton, Matamata, Cambridge, and Te Awamutu.

All of these tests also yielded negative results, as did all of the tests processed to date for community testing in Canterbury.

On Friday, Finance Minister Grant Robertson struggled to point out that the government had much more data to see before the Cabinet made its decision on Monday.

“I don’t think we should go ahead,” he said when asked about the low number of new cases.

He told the media that there were several things that the government needed to be sure of before the restrictions were relaxed.

“One of those is [making sure] that we are really breaking the chain of community transmission. “

There is still work to be done regarding contact tracing as well as ensuring that the health system has all the capacity it needs, Robertson said.

Meanwhile, concerns remain over the ministry’s ability to quickly trace Covid-19’s close contacts.

Experts informed the Herald that the government’s surveillance system is outdated, and one described it as a “dinosaur”.

The ministry received a report on the deficiencies in its search for contacts last Saturday, but it has not yet been published.

The report, conducted by the University of Otago infectious disease doctor, Ayesha Verrall, was understood to condemn the ministry’s tracking approach at the time of the audit.

His delay casts doubt on New Zealand’s level of readiness when it comes to locating contacts in a level 3 environment.

Chief Health Officer Ashley Bloomfield said Wednesday that she had received Verrall’s report and that officials responded “furiously” to her recommendations.

This occurs when the latest police figures show that there have been 2,078 offenses during the closure and more than 200 prosecutions.

Of the total, 1,605 have been breaches of the Health Law and have resulted in 190 prosecutions, 1,381 warnings and 34 referrals of young people.

A total of 473 were infractions under the Civil Defense Emergency Law and resulted in 38 prosecutions, 418 warnings and 17 youth referrals.

• Covid19.govt.nz – The official government Covid-19 advisory website