New Zealand scrambles contain coronavirus resurgence as it heads toward election

[webfact]

New Zealand scrambles contain coronavirus resurgence as it heads toward election

By Praveen Menon

 

FILE PHOTO: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks during a joint press conference held with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison at Admiralty House in Sydney, Australia, February 28, 2020. REUTERS/Loren Elliott/File Photo

 

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand was scrambling to trace the source of its first coronavirus outbreak in more than three months, reporting 13 new community infections on Thursday, after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had sought to eradicate the virus with a hard lockdown.

 

The resurgence of COVID-19 comes just weeks before a scheduled general election, increasing pressure on Ardern to get the outbreak under control amid growing criticism.

 

Ardern swiftly reimposed tight movement restrictions in Auckland and social distancing measures across the rest of the country after the discovery this week of four infected family members in the city.

 

"Once again we are reminded of how tricky this virus is and how easily it can spread," she said during a televised news conference on Thursday. "Going hard and early is still the best course of action."

 

Officials reported 13 new cases in the community on Thursday, and one overseas arrival who had not left quarantine since arriving in the country, bringing the total number of active cases to 36.

 

Ardern said it was a positive sign that all 13 new community cases were linked back to one infected family, either via work or broader family connections, and that all were being transferred into quarantine facilities.

 

She said that experience showed "things will get worse before they get better", and more cases were likely to be reported in coming days.

 

SEARCHING FOR PATIENT ZERO

Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said health officials were getting "closer every hour" to finding the patient zero of the outbreak.

 

Bloomfield raised the possibility on Wednesday that the virus had arrived in New Zealand via freight, given one of the initially infected family members works in a cool store that takes imported frozen goods from overseas.

 

Ten of the new cases were either cool store staff or their family members. The cool store is operated by the New Zealand unit of U.S.-based Americold Realty Trust.

 

On Thursday, Bloomfield said that importing the virus via freight was considered "a low possibility" as the infection source, but officials wanted to formally rule it out. China has reported the virus on frozen food packaged in South America.

 

Some prominent local health experts suggested it was more likely the virus had been quietly spreading in Auckland for weeks, despite Ardern's efforts to eradicate it with an initial five week hard lockdown.

 

This possibility has allowed the major opposition National Party to seize on potential flaws in Ardern's approach ahead of the Sept. 19 election, which she described as a "COVID election" when launching her campaign.

 

Ardern is on track to easily win the election, according to recent polls, but the National Party is pressuring her to delay the vote until at least November, arguing their inability to campaign gives Ardern an unfair advantage.

 

Ardern said she will announce a decision on the election date after she reveals on Friday whether lockdown measures will be extended. The election must be held by Nov 21.

 

Critics are also highlighting the economic impact of an extended shutdown. Reserve Bank of New Zealand Deputy Governor Geoff Bascand told Reuters the resurgence posed "a major risk" to the bank's outlook, given its baseline scenario has an assumption that the virus is contained in the country.

 

AUCKLAND LOCKDOWN

In Auckland, home to around 1.7 million people, residents were given just hours to prepare for the return to level 3 restrictions on Wednesday, requiring people to stay at home unless for essential trips.

 

Police set up checkpoints at the city's borders as scores of people attempted to leave to avoid a sustained lockdown, as Ardern warned they would be turned back.

 

Long queues of people formed at pop-up clinics, with some waiting hours to be tested for the virus, and there was a rush to supermarkets to stock up on essentials.

 

There was also growing anger at revelations that members of the infected family had visited several tourist sites in the town of Rotorua and an aged care home in the Waikato district, both south of Auckland.

 

"We can see the seriousness of the situation we are in," Ardern said. "It's being dealt with in an urgent but calm and methodical way."

 

With 1,238 confirmed cases and 22 deaths, New Zealand's exposure to the virus remains well below many other developed nations.

 

(Reporting by Praveen Menon in Wellington and Jane Wardell in Sydney; Editing by Michael Perry)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-08-13

 

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[3NUMBAS]

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/coronavirus-spread-surfaces-scientists-people-102714951.html

 

Coronavirus can spread on surfaces, scientists say, but people remain biggest infection risk

Jennifer Rigby

,

The Telegraph•12 August 2020

[maprao]

Resurgence 4 and 13 cases?

Give me strength!

[smiggley]

Ask Russia for the vaceine.

[Roadman]

Scrambling to contain? Clueless Cindy and her equally clueless government admitted yesterday that they had not been testing the gofers servicing the incoming into and in isolation as the gofers did not want to be tested. Absolute muppets. Even a school kid drawing up a Covid plan could have figured out that the gofers who were in direct contact with these people were who you would be testing and it would be compulsory not at the bloody gofers choice. 
This is not new but comes behind stuff up after stuff by these clowns including the lies about there being available flu vaccines in the country, sufficient PPE for doctors and nurses, plenty of kits for testing when all of us at the coal face know this is not the case. 
She has held elimination of Covid and control as her election platform with no policies put up for the economy, health etc. that are all taking a pounding. On the Covid lies and constant stuff ups she should be getting grilled but she is not held to account by the female Cindy rah rah press in this country or the too scared to speak out weak kneed male press who have been pounded into female dominated submission. 
Those of us who have an understanding of NZ economics and politics saw this coming prior to the last election as the lack of any competent ministers in the Little Labour government was there for all to see and was why they were poling at 30% support. All that was done was changing the leader to Cindy.....akin to putting some lipstick on a pig. But it’s the same incompetent pig. Only difference is the Cindy rah rah reporters are selective reporting for the world to think she is Saint Jacinda when the only skill she has is a competent speaker, giving out be kinds and hugs to school kids. Meanwhile the country is heading for economic disaster as her government throws money around cluelessly like drunken sailors.

No doubt with the brain washed sheeple compliments of the free holidays and buckets of unaccountable money they will romp in at this election. But there is going to be some hard times in another three years when the half trillion debt they are going to run up ...$100,000 for every one of us....has to be paid back. 

Edited August 14, 2020 by Roadman

[honcho]

16 hours ago, Roadman said:

Scrambling to contain? Clueless Cindy and her equally clueless government admitted yesterday that they had not been testing the gofers servicing the incoming into and in isolation as the gofers did not want to be tested. Absolute muppets. Even a school kid drawing up a Covid plan could have figured out that the gofers who were in direct contact with these people were who you would be testing and it would be compulsory not at the bloody gofers choice. 
This is not new but comes behind stuff up after stuff by these clowns including the lies about there being available flu vaccines in the country, sufficient PPE for doctors and nurses, plenty of kits for testing when all of us at the coal face know this is not the case. 
She has held elimination of Covid and control as her election platform with no policies put up for the economy, health etc. that are all taking a pounding. On the Covid lies and constant stuff ups she should be getting grilled but she is not held to account by the female Cindy rah rah press in this country or the too scared to speak out weak kneed male press who have been pounded into female dominated submission. 
Those of us who have an understanding of NZ economics and politics saw this coming prior to the last election as the lack of any competent ministers in the Little Labour government was there for all to see and was why they were poling at 30% support. All that was done was changing the leader to Cindy.....akin to putting some lipstick on a pig. But it’s the same incompetent pig. Only difference is the Cindy rah rah reporters are selective reporting for the world to think she is Saint Jacinda when the only skill she has is a competent speaker, giving out be kinds and hugs to school kids. Meanwhile the country is heading for economic disaster as her government throws money around cluelessly like drunken sailors.

No doubt with the brain washed sheeple compliments of the free holidays and buckets of unaccountable money they will romp in at this election. But there is going to be some hard times in another three years when the half trillion debt they are going to run up ...$100,000 for every one of us....has to be paid back. 

eloquent and on the button! you forgot to mention comrade cindas communist leanings... still we are all safe on the couch and can pay later!

[torturedsole]

On 8/13/2020 at 5:29 AM, webfact said:

Long queues of people formed at pop-up clinics, with some waiting hours to be tested for the virus

Erm, why bother. A dodgy test for a dodgy virus. Going to get tested every day and what are you going to do with the results?  

 

Easier to tune in to Netflix and take it easy.  

[thaibeachlovers]

18 hours ago, Roadman said:

Scrambling to contain? Clueless Cindy and her equally clueless government admitted yesterday that they had not been testing the gofers servicing the incoming into and in isolation as the gofers did not want to be tested. Absolute muppets. Even a school kid drawing up a Covid plan could have figured out that the gofers who were in direct contact with these people were who you would be testing and it would be compulsory not at the bloody gofers choice. 

Excellent post. I snipped it as no need to post the entire thing, though I agree with all of it.

 

Emperor and clothes comes to mind, but when will the sheeple wake up? Do they even understand that their children and grandchildren will be paying for her largess with other people's money.