Covid 19 coronavirus: expert warns of complacency, masks, tracking scans

An expert has urged the government to go ahead with a flagged order to make masks mandatory on public transport, amid concerns that New Zealand is still complacent about the Covid-19 threat.

Health Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today that Auckland’s latest community case, a student in her 20s, had been genomically linked to previous infections of New Zealand Defense Forces personnel.

That made it less likely that the latest case was a sign of an undetected outbreak in the community, as some feared, and more likely that it was a “secondary case” detected in the New Zealand Defense Forces cluster.

ESR chief scientist Dr. Brett Cowan said the news reflected how crucial genomics was in supporting case investigations.

“As New Zealand identifies new cases, it is crucial to determine the source of infection, as knowing the source helps the government make informed decisions about levels of lockdown and helps minimize risk to others who may have been in contact. “, said.

“I would like to applaud the work of our staff, not only for this result as they worked through the night, but for all 1085 genomes that ESR has successfully sequenced to date, often working late and on weekends of week”.

On Monday, Hipkins will bring an order to Cabinet seeking to make wearing the mask mandatory on Auckland’s public transport, including all flights in and out of the city.

If the Cabinet agrees to the mask’s mandate, a schedule will be announced Monday, but it will likely be required by the end of next week.

New Zealanders are being asked to follow that advice now.

Hipkins is also looking at possible new rules around QR code scans in settings such as large events.

Lesley Gray, a senior professor in the Department of Primary Health Care and General Medicine at the University of Otago, urged vigilance.

“Today’s announcement is reassuring in the sense that this recent case has ties to a known group, although it is worrying that we are talking about cases from several days ago,” he said.

“Given the inevitable delays in time for us to find out the ‘what, where, when and who’ of identified cases, this is a lot like the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.”

Experts have been particularly alarmed by a downward trend in people using the NZ Covid Tracer app to scan QR codes.

“If everyone in Aotearoa is distancing themselves, scanning and registering wherever they go, maintaining hand hygiene and wearing a mask when away from home and on public transport, our risk is minimized,” he said.

Whenever there was a rare community case, he said, it took several days to clarify where the cases had been and what the links to previous cases might be.

“If we are taking steps to minimize our risks when we are away from home, this will keep the risk of transmission to a minimum. Dropping our prevention strategies means that the risk to our community increases,” he said.

“I urge the government to make wearing masks mandatory on public transportation, and I urge people to scan anywhere.”

University of Otago epidemiologist Dr. Amanda Kvalsvig echoed Gray’s concerns.

“The risk of community transmission will not go away until the pandemic does.”

Kvalsvig also said that a community prevention measure that is not talked about much is as simple as fresh air.

“With summer on the way, we can keep the windows open and socialize outside with a huge potential decrease in the risk of transmitting infections,” he said.

“Employers must be supported to protect their staff by improving ventilation and air quality in the workplace.”

But there would still be environments where people huddle together in a closed space, he said.

“I welcome the new steps towards making masks mandatory for public transport in New Zealand that the minister announced today, but it does not go far enough.

“The time for piecemeal and gradual approval of masks is over. Wearing masks should be part of our daily life everywhere in New Zealand, not just reactively when there is an outbreak.”

“Otherwise, we are all at risk of the next outbreak that we do not yet know about.”