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Had New Zealand not responded to Covid-19 as it did in March, the nation’s death toll would have been in the thousands by now and 20 percent of those deaths would have been healthcare workers, predicted Dr. Ashley. Bloomfield.
Dr. Ashley Bloomfield. Source: Getty
That would have meant that 700 healthcare professionals, including those in residential care facilities for the elderly, could have lost their lives in just six months.
The Director General of Health revealed the sobering estimate during a question and answer session on Facebook on Sunday as he tried to explain how severe the pandemic in New Zealand could have been.
“If we were the UK, if you look at our population base now, and if we followed the route that Britain has followed, we would have already had 3,500 deaths from Covid-19.
“And to put that in context, in New Zealand in a year there are only about 25,000 deaths, so it would have had a significant impact.
“And not only that, and this is an important point, 20 percent of those deaths would have occurred among health workers.”
Bloomfield said the early lockdown prevented not only thousands of deaths, but also protected the healthcare system.
“This is not just another virus. We have already seen that it is ten times more deadly than the influenza virus that circulates in the community each year.
“This is a serious infection.”
As of mid-June, the total number of healthcare workers in New Zealand who tested positive for Covid-19 was 167.
“It is likely that ninety-six have been infected in the workplace,” a spokesman for the Ministry of Health told 1 NEWS.
“It is important to note that not all healthcare workers contracted the virus in their workplace or in a healthcare setting.”
The Ministry says that currently six people with Covid-19 connected to the Auckland cluster are healthcare workers.
The most recent case was a health worker at an Auckland quarantine facility who tested positive over the weekend.
A genomic link has been established with three confirmed cases at the facility.
In August, a Tokoroa health worker tested positive for Covid-19. That person was linked to the Auckland group.
