Ministry of Health Covid-19 update
May 22, 2020
Today there is one new confirmed case of Covid-19 to report in New Zealand.
The case is linked to the St Margaret’s cluster in Auckland and is a household contact of an earlier case. Because of their connection to the earlier case, the person has been in isolation since the beginning of Level 4. This case is another example of the ‘long tail’ of Covid-19 and why ongoing vigilance is so important.
Today’s case means our total number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 is 1154, which is the number we report to the World Health Organization.
Our combined total of confirmed and probable cases is 1504.
Today we have recorded 97% of all confirmed and probable cases as having recovered from Covid-19, an increase of three on yesterday, for a total of 1,455.
There are no additional deaths to report.
There is one person receiving hospital-level care for Covid-19; they are in Middlemore and are not in ICU.
Yesterday our laboratories completed 5408 tests, bringing the total number of tests completed to date to 250,246.
NZ Covid Tracer app
The NZ Covid Tracer app has now recorded 293,000 registrations.
We continue to encourage as many people as possible to download the app – it will help us identify, trace, test and isolate any cases of Covid-19. The faster we can do these steps the less likely it is the virus can spread in our communities.
It is also really important that businesses are going through the steps to get their unique QR code that people can use to record having been there. We have now recorded 10,692 QR codes generated by businesses.
And just to be clear on privacy:
· The personal information and contact details you provide through the app will only be used to get in touch if you are identified as a close contact of a Covid-19 case.
· Any information about the locations you sign into is stored securely on your phone and is not shared with contact tracers unless you choose to do so.
In either case, the personal information you share with us is held for public health purposes only and will never be used for enforcement.
Group events at Level 2
Heading into Saturday and Sunday, a reminder that the maximum number of people who can gather remains at 10 for now and that this applies to both private and public gatherings including church and faith-based ones. The only exceptions to this are funerals and tangihanga registered by funeral directors with the Ministry of Health.
‘We provided our health advice to the Government on numbers at Level 2 to minimise the mixing and mingling involved in larger groups,’ says the Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield.
‘I know many people, including those of faith, want to move as quickly as possible to increase the size of their gatherings. I know how important it is for people to be able to practise their faith together.
‘As we head into the weekend, I want to acknowledge once again the support and patience of New Zealanders right through Levels 4 and 3.
‘The number of people at gatherings will be one of the specific issues being reconsidered by Cabinet on Monday.’
