Fifteen new Covid-19 cases brings New Zealand past 1400 mark

April 16, 2020

The Director-General of Health says 12 people are in hospital with three in ICU.

Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield has announced 15 new coronavirus cases in New Zealand, bringing the total number of infections to 1401.

The new cases are made up of six confirmed cases and nine probable cases.

Dr Bloomfield announced the latest in today’s Ministry of Health's daily press conference.

He said there were no new deaths to report today.

There are now 12 people in hospitals throughout the country, with two people in intensive care. Two are in a critical condition.

Dr Bloomfield also confirmed 770 people have recovered from Covid-19 in New Zealand which is an increase of 42 on yesterday.

No new clusters have been identified but 11 of today's new cases are related to the 16 groups and events previously identified.

Wendy Petrie gives a short rundown of the current situation across the country.

Regarding the Invercargill death identified yesterday, Dr Bloomfield said: "a post-mortem process is now underway and when I have the findings of that, I will provide further information."

Dr Bloomfield spent time addressing the remaining four per cent of cases under investigation, with a firm focus being on those that have happened since New Zealand went into lockdown.

"As of yesterday, we've had 23 cases since March 24 that have been categorised as being under investigation," Dr Bloomfield said.

"This morning, my team has worked hard with the public health units to find out more about those cases and we've been able to confirm now that five of those cases have been due to overseas exposure and 13 are contacts of confirmed cases including someone who may be part of a known cluster or linked to someone who has travelled from overseas.

"Four of the cases have been classed as community-acquired and just one case is still under investigation and that is a case from yesterday."

Dr Bloomfield said this information is vital to helping the Government make an informed decision around whether New Zealand is in a position to step down from alert level four.

He also confirmed a further 3,661 tests were processed yesterday, bringing New Zealand's total to 70,160.

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