Covirus 19 coronavirus: zero new cases for the second consecutive day

There are no new cases of Covid-19 for the second consecutive day.

Achieving zero cases two days in a row was a testament to the efforts of New Zealanders that “we could be proud of,” says the Prime Minister.

But due to the long tail of the virus, Jacinda Ardern urged the kiwis to double up.

“Don’t do anything that takes away our potential victory right now.”

The total number of cases has decreased by one to 1,486 after a probable case was reclassified, he said.

Having zero new cases for a second day is “very encouraging” and all New Zealanders should be satisfied with their efforts, said Director-General for Health Ashley Bloomfield.

“I certainly do.”

The worst thing we could do is “blow the whistle too soon” and he urged Kiwis to stay on course.

There are one hundred and seventy-nine people in quarantine, he said.

Just over 1,300 people have recovered, 88 percent of the total number of Covid-19 cases.

Four people are in the hospital.

Superior Court case that allows the son to see the dying father

Yesterday it was revealed that a man with controlled self-isolation went to the Superior Court after the Ministry of Health refused to allow him an exemption to see his dying father.

The judge reversed the Ministry’s decision and the man was able to spend 36 hours with his very ill father.

As a result of the legal action, Bloomfield said it asked a team to review the current cases.

The review began today and will be completed as soon as possible, Bloomfield said, and will take into account the Superior Court ruling.

Ardern said the “central point” of having the ability to apply for an isolation exemption was that each case be considered individually and not an automated process.

But they did not want “double penalty” by allowing unsafe situations.

Ardern said there were some very complicated situations.

Ardern said that ultimately it was the right decision to go back and review the decisions again.

“Decisions should not be made automatically, they should be duly taken into account.”

Bloomfield said the review team was working quickly as they recognized the time pressures of the requests.

Prime Minister joined Australian cabinet meeting and transtasman bubble

Speaking at the Australian national cabinet meeting, Ardern said that the last New Zealand prime minister to join that meeting was Peter Fraser.

Both countries will benefit by allowing travel between the two countries, Ardern said, for economic relations and for those whose families and friendship spanned Tasmania.

A statement will be issued at the end of the national cabinet meeting on what was discussed.

Ardern said Australia has now had an acceptance in the numbers and showed that “it doesn’t take much for the situation to change.”

There were many similarities between Australia and New Zealand, which is why they were both excited about a transtasman bubble, he said.

This was not to get ahead of a decision because there were still limits on interstate travel.

When both countries trusted that they would not import or export, it was when borders could be opened.

For kiwis in Australia, Ardern said they could return home but would still have to go into quarantine, but were considering how it would work in the future.

The transtasman bubble would give New Zealanders a sense of normality, if we could make it work, Ardern said.

Ardern could not provide more clarity on the deadlines as he was waiting for the meeting in Australia to end.

Ardern said “these are devastating cases,” but 20 people who came to the country and who were isolated isolated tested positive and showed the risks involved.

On DHBs that have different policies to allow support people, Bloomfield said the ward person had to balance the case with the risks within a nationally agreed framework.

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Yesterday, for the first time in nearly eight weeks, there were no positive tests for Covid-19 in a 24-hour period.

But Bloomfield warned that we would not see what impact the drop to level 3 would have until later this week due to the incubation period for the coronavirus.

The total number of confirmed or probable cases was 1,487, but the number of active cases dropped to 191, while the number of people in the hospital dropped to four.

Ardern said yesterday that having no new cases was due to the success of the Level 4 crash, and Covid-19’s two-week incubation period meant that Level 3 success would not be seen in the numbers until later this week.

“I’m a perfectionist. I want to see those numbers after I’ve been on Alert Level 3 long enough to be a reflection of Level 3.”

“This is where we verify that we are recovering well and if we have done well. We need a few more days to verify that we have.”