New Zealand imposes new Covid measures as cases soar

New Zealand has announced it is introducing new Covid measures in response to skyrocketing cases.

New Zealand has introduced new Covid measures to help ease the burden on hospitals as cases soar across the country.

Masks and Rapid-Antigen Tests will now be made available for free and antiviral drugs – which help keep Covid patients out of hospitals – will be offered to about 400,000 people, NZ Herald reports.

The country is battling a second wave of Covid infections, with more than 11,000 community cases announced for a third straight day on Thursday.

There were 23 virus-related deaths reported, including a child aged 10 or under.

Free masks and rapid antigen tests will be offered at collection sites and people no longer have to have Covid symptoms or be a household contact or a critical worker to access them.

The Government is also providing 10 million child-size masks for Year 4-7 students and up to 30,000 masks a week for all other students and school staff.

Covid-19 Minister Ayesha Verrall said if schools took up the support of free masks in the next term, it would make a difference: “Please use it”.

A new campaign to try to push along the boosters campaign would also be run.

About 400,000 people would be eligible for antiviral drugs, which helped keep people out of hospital.

Ms Verrall said many accessed them through GPs. She encouraged GPs to identify people in their care who were most at risk, and be ready to prescribe them if that person tested positive.

She said New Zealand would remain at the orange traffic light setting.

Stream the latest news on COVID-19 with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends 31 October, 2022 >

NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

The Government had weighed up whether moving to red would make a significant difference, but gathering limits would only offer “an incremental benefit”.

Wearing a mask, getting boosted and staying home if sick were more effective than a return to the red setting, she said.

However red was not redundant: “This is a virus that keeps changing, therefore we do need a flexible response system. “We need to have a response we can flex.”

Under the current rules — marked orange for the second most restrictive setting under the nation’s traffic light system — Kiwis are told they can do everyday activities, but that they “need to protect our vulnerable communities”.

This means they are ordered by the government to wear a face mask in many indoor locations, but that there are no limits on gatherings or distancing requirements.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Tuesday there would be consideration around what measures would make a difference to the numbers.

“We know what they are. Isolation if you have Covid – that markedly brings down the infection rates of others. Your household isolating with you is equally important. Mask use and vaccination. Those are three things that will have some of the biggest impact on our numbers.”

Numbers were going up and people who had previously had Covid-19 were getting reinfected, so Ms Ardern asked people to wear masks, get boosters, and isolate.

“They are the most important things we can be doing right now, far and away above the extra measure [of] gathering limits which in this environment will not have the same impact.”

She said Ms Verrall, the Covid response minister, would on Thursday set out what more could be done to focus on those three elements, beyond what was already happening.

Covid-19 modellers say community cases could reach 20,000 in the coming weeks and will likely mean many more deaths.

Cases have skyrocketed in New Zealand. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

As of Tuesday, the seven-day rolling average of community cases was 9279 – up from 7053 this time last week.

Dr Michael Plank told the Herald that New Zealand was “definitely in a second wave”.

“It’s got potential to be quite a serious one. Hospitalisations are rising sharply now and that’s concerning because the health system was already stressed with winter illness and flu.”

Dr Plank said mask use would remain critical for flattening the curve of the outbreak, and even though New Zealanders were relatively good at wearing masks, there was still room for improvement.

“We are probably still better at using masks here than many places who I think have fallen out of the habit.

“That’s not to say there isn’t room for improvement because there is and masks will be crucially important for flattening the wave.”