How the authorities in NZ are pulling the wool over the public's eyes as others are worried.

"Pull the blinds and let's pretend we're moving"

In New Zealand the 

authorities are trying to 

quarantine information, not 

the coronavirus

Just a few days ago our Prime Minister was complacently saying there were NO coronavirus cases in New Zealand.

Then there was one...then two … now, there are FOUR

We know there are more but we will be drip-fed the information while it gets worse

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/03/fourth-coronavirus-case-confirmed-in-new-zealand.html

What New Zealanders are not being told is that this virus is highly contagious and if we take the information that cases are doubling every three days (something that is accurately reflected in South Korean data- they are being quite transparent),then the picture looks like this.

Bar a miracle, we are going to get a lesson in what exponential growth looks like.

Somewhere just under 200 cases in 3 weekks.

And yet, complacency is the New Zealand disease (the shadow side of an easygoing "she'll be right" nature.

This is what people are being handed when they arrive  at the airport without any checks.

In addition, it seems they have not even printed anything particular to coronavirus but recycled leaflets from a few years ago

And, yeah, this is really useful information!

That made one man write an open letter to PM Jacinda Adern. It's not an exaggeration!



Case in point...

An Auckland woman who returned from northern Italy last week says she was "surprised" to be told not to self-isolate, especially now given she arrived the day after the woman who went on to become the country's second case of Covid-19.

The early childhood education worker was in the area of Emilia Romagna for a conference, and was there as the Covid-19 outbreak escalated.

"It went from one case, to 20, to a death, very rapidly," said the woman, who asked not to be named for fear of adverse impacts on her profession.

"Pre-schools, schools, universities, museums - they were all closing down, it was pretty scary and I was very happy to get out."

But she was also very aware of the risk she could pose returning to New Zealand, and especially in her profession working around young children.

So when she arrived, flying with Emirates via Dubai, last Wednesday morning, February 26, she immediately phoned Healthline to register herself as in self-isolation.

Instead, she was told there was no need.

"I was very surprised. The woman on the phone was lovely, but she said I didn't need to, only people returning from China.

"I was insistent, I told her where I had been, the Emilia Romagna region, that there had been an outbreak nearby, and that I worked with young children.

"'No no', the lady kept saying. 'You'll be fine, only people returning from China'."

The woman didn't agree with the advice, and after consulting with colleagues decided to make the decision to self-isolate.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12314245&utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Paid&utm_campaign=Traffic_Driver&utm_content=NZH

Here are some of the headlines.

A New Zealander with coronavirus had "significant interaction with the public" at an Auckland medical centre, whose staff weren't told about a positive test result, an employee has alleged.

An individual who works at the Westgate Medical Centre has expressed their frustration to Newshub about the lack of communication with staff after a woman attended the clinic and was later diagnosed with the potentially deadly illness.

The employee - who Newshub has agreed not to name - says the woman arrived at the Auckland urgent care clinic on Monday evening. They claim it wasn't an ideal situation as the woman "didn't identify themselves as being a potential risk", even though the clinic had signage warning people not to enter if they had been overseas recently.

 

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/03/kiwi-coronavirus-patient-had-significant-interaction-with-public-medical-staff-weren-t-alerted-by-centre-employee.html

Doctors say they will have to close entire clinics if people infect them or their staff.

Healthline staff took 2200 calls yesterday about coronavirus.

The phones are being answered 24-7, but some people are not heeding the advice to call.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/411053/coronavirus-medical-centres-could-close-if-patients-ignore-advice

But, the Director-General of Heath dismisses GPs' concerns

"The Director-General of Health said people shouldn't be concerned about visiting their general health practitioners."

Covid-19: Business as usual at Auckland Grammar school

In a letter supplied to Stuff, New Zealand Steel, which owns Glenbrook Steel Mill in south Auckland's Waiuku, said it was advised one of its employees had tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday morning.

"We are pleased to advise that the affected employee has confirmed that they are not seriously ill and are in isolation at home," chief executive Gretta Stephens said in the letter.

It said the company was working directly with the Ministry of Health, and the practices it had put in place were consistent with the ministry's recommendations.

Stephens said NZ Steel would be contacting and working with employees that had primary contact with the person diagnosed with the virus.

"On advice from the Ministry of Health, primary contact is currently defined as direct face to face contact for more than 15 minutes or working in close proximity in a confined area for more than 2 hours."

Stephens said she could confirm the employee had not been in any plant operating areas or the cafeteria, the letter said.

Staff were advised that if they were feeling unwell, they should speak to their supervisor/manager in the first instance.

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/03/fourth-coronavirus-case-confirmed-in-new-zealand.html

A man who tested positive for coronavirus attended the Tool concert at Spark Arena in Auckland last Friday when he may have been infectious, the Ministry of Health says.

Earlier, the ministry confirmed the person was the fourth to test positive for the illness - he was the partner of the second person to test positive for the virus.

"We encourage all people who were in the general admission standing area to be aware of the general symptoms of Covid-19," Ministry of Health director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said. If people are symptomatic, they were asked to call Healthline's dedicated coronavirus number - 0800 358 5453.

The man was standing in the left quadrant.

The dangerous comment comes here”

"Those people who were in the standing area were casual contacts, they are not close contacts," he said.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/120069317/coronavirus-ministry-of-health-updates-on-outbreak?cid=app-iPad

Now, contrast with this. Some countries DO actually test.