What is going on in New Zealand with coronavirus

On “rumours” and official 

disinformation

Yesterday, I did very little but I did spar with a woman from Auckland on Facebook who said quite CATEGORICALLY (as if she had insider information) that there were NO cases of coronavirus in New Zealand and warned against "spreading rumours" (which could have come straight from the Communist Party of  China).

When I pushed her further she said she has a son working for the Auckland Hospital Board who has been attending meetings on this.  Given the strictness around patient confidentiality i do wonder how acceptable it is for a health worker to be sharing what was said in a boardroom to one's mother.

I have said on numerous occasions that it looks less-and-less like we are living in a democratic country. I have had some experience with the Soviet Union and I know that when people no longer trust their government or media they resort to two things - reading between the lines and rumours.  And I have to say the rumour mill worked quite well in the Soviet Union.

Is that where we are at in New Zealand in 2020?

It looks like we are more-and-more taking a leaf out of the Communist Party of China.

For instance there was this:

The above warning went out but not before I caught the article, which may have been from a "fake site" (we wouldn't know).

In any case, the item (caught in a screenshot) has been disappeared from the internet.

That may well have been fake but the news my partner got from talking to someone who is quite reliable makes one wonder.

She was told that someone was seen being taken off a cruise ship in . Wellington.

Rumours, one might say which equates to information from unofficial sources. Have we really come to the point where the only mandated information comes down from On-High?

However there was also this (and it IS still on the internet).

Call me paranoid if you wish but I have not quite got over a message on Facebook after last year's Christchurch massacre from someone who used to be a friend exhorting people to DOB IN people who posted "conspiracy theories".

That particular person would possibly feel quite comfortable in Stalinist Russia.

There ARE questions to be asked as here:

What if New Zealand has cases of Covd19 and isn't admitting it?

Discussion

Correct me if I'm wrong but New Zealand has yet to declare any cases of Covid19. Which is odd considering so many surrounding countries have declared cases.

That makes this news report about health workers in hazmat suits, helping a family wearing masks into an ambulance, look mealy mouthed and oddly worded

Asked about the incident, a St John spokeswoman confirmed a patient was taken to Auckland Hospital in a serious condition this morning.

However, the case did not meet the definition for coronavirus (Covid-19), a Ministry of Health spokesperson told the Herald.

"Did not meet the definition" does not mean "did not have the virus".

Speaking to the Herald earlier today, van den Berg said he was concerned to see the incident unfold on his street amid the outbreak overseas.

"I'm really concerned, as everyone else should," he said. "This sort of thing is not sensationalising, people are dying.

"The first person that got escorted into the back of the ambulance was shielded so no one could see but you knew what was going on.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12308860

Edit: Update from another news source. A family in self isolation has developed symptoms and has been taken away by paramedics in hazmat suits:

This morning, in the Auckland suburb of Albany, a St John paramedic decked out in a hazmat suit was videoed ushering a female into an ambulance.

1 News understands the family is in self isolation.

Health Minister David Clark downplayed concerns.

"I've been advised that case doesn't meet the test of being a suspected case," he said.

The Ministry of Health today said that about 4000 Kiwis are currently self-isolating.

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/coronavirus-restrictions-continue-kiwis-self-isolate

FFS "Doesn't meet the test of being a suspected case" - okay, but what we want to know is......are they covid19 positive or not?

https://www.reddit.com/r/China_Flu/comments/f5p42x/what_if_new_zealand_has_cases_of_covd19_and_isnt/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

Under ordinary circumstances it should be quite possible to shield New Zealand from the coronavirus. We are a remote country far away from everyone and are surrounded by ocean, so it should be the easiest thing in the world to seal off the border.

However, we are captive to neo-liberal ideology and "open borders" so that any steps are no more than half-hearted and it is hard to imagine they are serious.

Here are just a few examples:

People 'self-quarantining' and being forced to live in their cars...

Here, as in Australia, Chinese students are able to find a way round a half-hearted travel ban by travelling to third countries.

"Foreigners from China are allowed into the country if they can prove they have just spent at least 14 days in another country where there are no travel restrictions and Wu was trying to do just that."