Seemorerocks: Suppression of important news together with propaganda in NZ media

“In Pravda there is no news; in Izvestiya there is no

truth”

(In Russian, Pravda means “truth” and Izvestiya means “news”)

This morning my partner rushed in to tell my this news which was on the early morning news on RNZ. When I tried to find an article on this I tried looking it up using two search engines and finally found ONE article which had it.

Obviously, we are not supposed to know because a single sentence is embedded in the articles that most people would miss.

Here is the article I found, thanks to the headline.

Have a look. Despite the headline, you have to go down a long way to find reference to the most important news – that 43 medical staff have been potentially exposed to coronavirus.

Bless TV3 for making it the headline.

These were the "happy headlines" at the time on RNZ.

Coronavirus: Forty-three

hospital staff among Kiwi

cases' close contacts self-

isolating

Newshub,

7 March, 2020

The Ministry of Health has revealed the number of close and casual contacts for each of New Zealand's confirmed coronavirus cases.

The fifth COVID-19 coronavirus case in the country was confirmed on Saturday. She is the partner of the third case, the man in his 40s who is understood to have contracted the illness from his father who recently visited Iran.

As part of the Ministry's protocols in responding to the illness, which has infected more than 100,000 people worldwide and killed at least 3400, it is tracing people who may have come into close contact with the infected individuals before they were placed into isolation.

Close contacts are defined as people who have been within a metre of an infected individual for more than 15 minutes. Casual contacts, on the other hand, are people who were face to face with an infected person for less than 15 minutes or in the same closed space for less than two hours.

Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said on Saturday that officials had gone to extensive lengths to identify and get in touch with contacts of the five infected New Zealanders. He also revealed the number of contacts traced for each infected person.

Case one - A person in their 60s who recently visited Iran and is currently in a stable condition in hospital: 26 close contacts, 126 casual contacts.

Case two - A woman in their 30s who recently visited northern Italy and returned to New Zealand last week. She went on a return trip to Palmerston North and to two medical centres: Around 100 close contacts and more than 300 casual contacts.

Case three - A man in their 40s who likely contracted the illness of his father who recently went to Iran: 18 close contacts, seven casual contacts.

Case four - The partner of case two who went to the Tool concert last Friday night: Eight close contacts.

The casual contacts for the fifth case, the partner of case three, are still being traced.

The Director-General explained that all casual contacts should be aware of how they are feeling and get in touch with Healthline if they begin to feel unwell or have any concerns. Close contacts have been asked to self-isolate.

There are also two probable cases. One is the father of case three, while the second is a woman in her 70s who was on the Grand Princess cruise ship, which currently has 21 infected individuals on board.

That woman arrived back in the country on February 25 and went to North Shore Hospital for several days for an unrelated reason. She was eventually discharged but is now back in hospital. While she has tested negative for coronavirus, Dr Bloomfield says she is still being treated as probable.

There were about 80 staff at North Shore Hospital who were involved in her treatment when she was first admitted. Of those, 43 are considered close contacts and are currently in isolation, where they will remain until the end of a 14 day period, which began when they first met the woman.

"[It's a] purely precautionary measure, none are symptomatic," Dr Bloomfield said.

"We are in a phase where we are seeing more cases, and we are actively trying to find cases through testing.

"We have a good plan and a thorough public health response that has been demonstrated to work both here and elsewhere.

"Our own efforts to encourage everyone to play their part are picking up and from today we’ll see more public messaging in bus shelters about the steps people can take to protect themselves and others by covering coughs, sneezes and washing hands."

What we know about coronavirus

Coronavirus is primarily spread through droplets in the air after someone sneezes or coughs. However, it can also be contracted by touching surfaces where the illness is present, according to the World Health Organisation. The length of time the virus stays alive on surfaces is unknown at this stage, but some viruses can remain active for days.

The WHO was first informed of cases of the virus in Wuhan on December 31. It was identified as a coronavirus on January 7 and can spread through human-to-human transmission.

"Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death," the WHO says.

"Standard recommendations to prevent infection spread include regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs. Avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing."

There is currently no vaccine for the sickness.

How can I protect myself?

avoid touching the mouth, nose and eyes with unwashed hands
washing your hands before eating
carrying a hand sanitiser at all times
being particularly mindful of touching your face after using public transport or going to the airport
carry tissues at all times to cover the mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing (then dispose of it)
not eating shared or communal food
avoiding shaking hands, kissing cheeks
regularly cleaning and sanitise commonly used surfaces and items, such as phones and keys
avoiding close contact with people suffering from or showing symptoms of acute respiratory infection
seeking medical attention if you feel unwell.

A full explainer on protecting yourself from coronavirus can be found here, while here are eight things you should know about the virus.

The Ministry of Health is reminding the public to get in touch with Healthline on 0800 358 5453 if they have symptoms or concerns.

Coronavirus: NZ hospitals

'stretched to breaking point'

as dozens of staff self-isolate

Hospitals are being stretched to breaking point by the worsening coronavirus outbreak and will need extra support, union bosses say.

The Ministry of Health confirmed New Zealand's fifth case of the virus on Saturday.

It is treating two others as probable cases - one, a woman who returned to New Zealand from the infected Grand Princess cruise ship docked off California; the other, a family member of two of the already-confirmed cases.

Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said hundreds of close contacts of the five confirmed cases had been identified, all of whom are in self-isolation for 14 days, including 43 staff from North Shore Hospital.

Dr Deborah Powell, national secretary for the New Zealand Resident Doctors Association, said medical staff were under extraordinary pressure, and District Health Boards had to prioritise their wellbeing.

"We are stretched. We are really stretched," said Powell.

"It's not just our doctors and nurses, it's our laboratory staff and our radiologists."

"There are a whole lot of people in the hospital system that are stretched. There isn't any more give in our system anymore, we are at our limit."

Powell said DHBs needed to be treating clinical frontline staff "properly", including making sure they were adequately protected at work.

"They'll work themselves to exhaustion. They'll give it their all for their patients, really put themselves at risk because they care.

"They are carers. They work long hours, they suffer burnout, they're a dedicated, truly committed bunch of people."

As such, DHBs needed to make care of staff a "priority". "You've got to look after them. They will look after the patients."

Powell feared the "double whammy" of a rapid increase in coronavirus cases coinciding with the flu season.

"People are turning up to ED with a cold and asking to be tested despite not meeting the criteria... [is an] additional load on frontline staff, to have to deal with people who are genuinely worried, but have no need to be."

She reiterated advice that people should phone ahead in the first instance of being symptomatic, and stay home. "The best way to contain this virus is exactly that, containment."

New Zealand Nurses' Organisation associate professional services manager Hilary Graham-Smith said coronavirus was going to place an "enormous strain" on the public health system. "Our hospitals and our resources are already really stretched."

Concerns had been raised about workers not having the right personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep themselves safe from the virus, Graham-Smith said, which had been brought up with several DHBs already.

Existing health and safety legislation outlines that workers must be appropriately protected.

Anxious members had approached Graham-Smith directly, asking whether the public health system would "actually be ready" to cope with a sustained community outbreak.

Many workers also questioned their employers directly about the country's state of readiness, she said.

"Where will those extra staff come from? That's the 64 million dollar question. We are already understaffed."

MONIQUE FORD/STUFF

The Ministry of Health's director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield remains confident in New Zealand's ability to manage an oubreak of coronavirus.

In disasters like the Christchurch earthquakes and mosque shootings, nurses and doctors typically "get their boots on and provide whatever is required", she said.

But the truth is, it's not known exactly how many people will be needed - it won't be known until the situation evolves, she said.

"Underfunding of the system is like a chronic condition in New Zealand. We see that in terms of the nursing workforce and pressure they're under on a daily basis. If we get a rapid increase in cases ... that would be significant cause for concern."

Director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said on Saturday that every DHB had been contacted to ensure they had enough PPE for staffers.

Healthline had been training "lots" of new staff to keep up with the increase in call volume.

There was a "whole range of things under way" to help the wider health system cope with an outbreak, Bloomfield said.

The health ministry had spoken with both the Medical Council and Nursing Council about re-issuing recently-retired doctors and nurses with practicing certificates, if extra staff were required.

Every DHB also had a "good plan" in place, which they were refining, he said. Hospitals could possibly look at shutting down entire wards to treat coronavirus patients, Bloomfield said.

Several DHBs contacted by Stuff reiterated they were "well placed" to deal with a coronavirus outbreak, however little detail was provided about what that would look like in reality.

Worldwide, there have been more than 101,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, and more than 3400 deaths. New Zealand's health ministry remains adamant the risk of a sustained community outbreak is low.

In Australia, a doctor who has tested positive for coronavirus consulted about 70 Melbourne patients for five days while infected.

Health Minister David Clark was unavailable for comment.

Additional reporting: Hannah Martin