Health
1News

Two in a row: New Zealand records second consecutive day without new Covid-19 infections

May 5, 2020

Dr Ashley Bloomfield confirmed the news in the daily press conference today.

There are no new cases of people with Covid-19 in New Zealand for the second day in a row.

There were also no further deaths, with the national death toll remaining at 20.

The total number of people who have or have had the virus in New Zealand is 1486, after one previously probable case was found to not be Covid-19, Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said at a media conference today.

"Obviously having zero cases of Covid-19 to report for a second day in a row is very encouraging and all New Zealanders should be pleased with their efforts, I certainly do and of what we've achieved over these last weeks," Dr Bloomfield said.

"Of course, we must stick to the plan. The worst thing we can do now is celebrate success early before the full time whistle blows and jeopardise the gains we've made.

"Stay in your bubble and don't squander what we've achieved."

The total number of confirmed cases, which is the number New Zealand gives to the World Health Organisation and compares with other nations, is 1137.

"Acheiving zero cases two days in a row is a result of New Zealanders demonstrating a level of commitment and discipline to our goal of winning the fight against Covid-19, that we can all be undeniably proud of. It points to our lockdown doing exactly what we planned it to do - break the chains of transmission," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

"However, we know the virus can have a long tail and that other cases can pop up, so as we make our way through this week and head towards the Level 3 review next week my message remains - don't do anything that snatches our potential victory at this point."

There are four people in hospitals throughout the country with the virus, with none in intensive care.

Now, 1302 people have recovered - up 26 on yesterday.

Yesterday, 3232 tests were carried out, adding to the total of nearly 156,000 total tests in New Zealand.

There are still 16 significant clusters in New Zealand, three of which have closed, however five new cases have been linked to the St Margaret's rest home in Auckland. The cases were previously thought to be a separate smaller cluster.

SHARE ME

More Stories