[ad_1]
The Health Ministry will not announce whether there are any new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, for the first time since March.
New Zealand had its first confirmed case of Covid-19 on February 28 and from March 3 onwards, daily updates have been provided to the media and the public with an update on any new cases.
On Monday, the ministry announced that it was reducing the frequency of its regular Covid-19 updates to four times a week.
LAWRENCE SMITH / Things
New Zealand had its first case of Covid-19 on February 28, 2020 (file photo).
Updates are scheduled for Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
READ MORE:
* Covid-19: Six new virus cases, all in managed isolation
* Covid-19: a new case of managed isolation, the ministry cuts updates
* Covid-19: Beijing rushes to roll out five vaccines despite doubts about results
On those days, the ministry will report the cases that tested positive in administered isolation in the days prior to the last update.
Any “significant development”, such as a case arising in the community, will be reported earlier if necessary.
“At this stage in New Zealand’s response to Covid-19, we are seeing cases routinely appearing at the border in recent returnees in managed isolation facilities,” the ministry said.
“We hope this will continue to be the case as long as we remain at Alert Level 1 with the isolation requirements managed.”
When New Zealand entered Alert Level 4 lockdown in March, it began a Covid-19 briefing broadcast live daily at 1:00 PM with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Chief Health Officer Dr. Ashley Bloomfield.
At its peak, it earned twice the rating of 1News.
As the country lowered alert levels, the frequency of live broadcast updates decreased and the ministry sent a daily email with numbers.
When it was announced that Auckland would return to level 3, while the rest of the country would move to level 2, the televised updates returned.
