Covid-19 coronavirus: Jacinda Ardern in level 2 plans and latest case numbers

New Zealand has no new cases of Covid-19 today, as the country’s companies are rushing to reopen Thursday under Alert Level 2.

There are a total of 1,497 cases, and 93 percent have recovered, Director-General of Health Dr. Ashley Bloomfield said today.

There are no new deaths. A total of 2,893 Covid-19 tests were performed yesterday.

Bloomfield said the public could resume visiting people in the hospital below level 2. In high-risk areas, such as emergency departments and intensive care, only visits would be allowed at a time.

An updated Section 70 order has been issued allowing people to enter businesses to prepare for Level 2, he said.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said employees ready to return to work should try to take advantage of flexibility with things like start times to allow for more passengers, especially on public transport.

By allowing 100 people to go to the movies, but only allowing 10 people to attend a funeral, Ardern said the problem was people getting together.

She said that the hardest part of all of this, as a human, was funerals and tangi, but they were a place where people wanted to comfort others and unite.

The government had made the same difficult calls for other meetings where people gathered, such as weddings and birthdays.

“We know this is causing pain, but we have also tried to be consistent.”

The cabinet considered whether there was “a way to do this differently,” but it was “very, very difficult” to find a way to facilitate them.

Ardern said they had also considered the churches, but the line with the people would probably join, as they would in the church.

She said the subject had weighed on her mind, having grown up in a religious family.

Bloomfield said officials had carefully examined the type of activities where there was “increased risk.”

Small business scheme in operation

Ardern said the small business’s cash flow scheme “is officially open.”

The scheme was launched last night and applications can be taken today. Loans would be repaid within five days of approval.

A total of $ 10.7 billion has been paid through the 1.7 million Kiwi wage subsidy scheme.

Grateful Kiwi Nurses

Today is International Nurses Day and Bloomfield said it celebrated them “now more than ever” as they had played a pivotal role in this country’s Covid-19 response.

Ardern agreed, saying that even before Covid-19 he had received letters from people who had passed through the health system about how friendly and caring the staff had been.

“We want to recognize all Jennies from around the world,” said Ardern, referring to kiwi nurse Jenny McGee, who treated British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

In the pre-$ 4 billion health budget announcement this morning, Ardern said that we would never know when the next crisis would be, but that we had to make sure we were prepared for it.

Ardern said the funding would help the health system “help us” and provide more care.

The country begins to move to Alert Level 2 starting Thursday with cafes and shopping malls open. Schools can resume from Monday.

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Yesterday, there were three new confirmed cases of Covid-19: two were Waitakere Hospital nurses treating St. Margarets patients and the other was a traveler returning abroad.

And there were only 90 active cases.

Ardern said it was safe to go to alert level 2 and that it would be phased in as of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday.

But the meetings would be limited to no more than 10 people for at least two weeks, frustrating funeral directors who said it upset grieving families who wanted meaningful service.

Association Funeral Directors President Gary Taylor said they had been led to believe that Level 2 would allow meetings for up to 100 people, as the Government had previously noted, and had worked on how to manage funerals and tangi safely .

“This is a cruel and ruthless blow to the thousands of New Zealand families who have lost loved ones and it is unjustifiable.”