Covirus 19 coronavirus: concern decreases as new cases stay low

The number of people concerned about the capture of Covid-19 has plummeted and more than half of all New Zealanders think the worst of the pandemic has passed, according to new research.

This occurs as the trend of a low number of cases continues: only three new cases were announced yesterday.

For the fourth consecutive day, there were no Covid-19 related deaths in New Zealand and the number of significant groups being actively investigated has decreased.

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There are 16 major groups across the country, but the Health Ministry said yesterday that Wellington’s wedding group had expired, meaning 28 days had passed since the last Covid-19 case was confirmed.

The ministry is expected to close two other groups today, one based in Auckland and one in Wellington, who had traveled to the United States, bringing the number of groups under active investigation to 13.

Public Health Director Dr. Caroline McElnay told the media yesterday that this was “very encouraging” and said more groups are expected to close in the coming days.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson was also optimistic, but like Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, she warned people not to waste the gains New Zealand has made.

For example, he told the media that there has been an increase in reports of people having parties at home.

“Don’t be an idiot; stay true to your bubble and everyone will be better.”

The leaked UMR poll numbers, obtained by the Herald, reveal that the number of New Zealanders concerned that they, or their family, would catch Covid-19 dropped from 64% to 43%.

It also shows that 51 percent of New Zealanders think the worst of Covid-19 has passed.

The survey was conducted between April 21-27, while New Zealand was at level 4 blocking.

The numbers also reveal that New Zealanders highly value supermarket workers during the shutdown: 83 percent of respondents say they performed well.

This occurs when the Government seeks to provide more relief to companies affected by Covid-19.

Yesterday, Robertson officially announced that companies with fewer than 50 employees will be able to borrow up to $ 100,000 from the government to help them overcome Covid-19.

That loan will have no interest if it is repaid within a year.

The scheme will provide $ 10,000 to each participating business plus $ 1,800 per full-time equivalent employee.

But the government has criticized the way the legislation was implemented.

The loan scheme was included in a bill that was passed Thursday night, but had not been publicly announced.

Act supported the bill, but criticized its implementation and said the error casts doubt on the government’s competence.

Robertson said the mistake was the fault of the Parliamentary Council, which has since apologized.

Meanwhile, he is defending himself against accusations by national leader Simon Bridges that the leaked UMR poll came from Labor.

The survey showed National with only 29% and Labor with 55%.

In those numbers, Labor could form a government of its own.

Bridges erased the poll.

“UMR are job pollsters and they are consistently very bad.”

He added that Labor “should focus on getting New Zealand back to work, not leaking dubious numbers.”

But Robertson said he was “very sure” that the leak had nothing to do with the Labor Party.

The UMR poll also showed that 78 percent of New Zealanders believe the country is heading in the right direction.

The number of people saying New Zealand is on the right track has not been as high in a UMR survey since 1991.

“This can only be attributed again to a concentration in a national crisis and related current confidence in the government’s steps to combat Covid-19,” said UMR.

However, UMR cautioned that the political numbers should be taken with a grain of salt.

“They [the poll numbers] it needs to be interpreted very carefully. Conventional wisdom is that natural disasters (and wars) are often good for governments, but that those effects can quickly wear off. “

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