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Summary
- New Zealand may have to go under Lockdown 4 if the cases of new variant show an increasing trend.
- So far 8 cases of the new strain, 1.1.7, have been identified, according to a Ministry of Health spokeswoman.
- New Zealand’s approach in tackling the health emergency due to COVID-19 proved very successful, praised world over
New Zealand’s Health Ministry is keeping a close watch on the COVID-19 numbers as the new variant is a highly transmissible strain of the virus.
The new mutant of the COVID-19 virus is estimated to be 50% more infectious than others. It is a more serious strain and grows much faster — something that poses a big challenge as to how to control the disease. Its exponential growth is worrying the public health experts.
Earlier the Health Ministry disclosed that the total number of active cases in NZ were 72. Of these, six cases were of the new variant called B.1.1.7. Five arrived from the United Kingdom and one arrived from South Africa. As on 7 January, the number of cases of the new variant stands at eight.
If the numbers grow, public health professionals will face a huge challenge. According to experts, to avert the strain from spreading further, it might be a good idea to impose Lockdown 4. They feel Lockdown 4 for a month is very effective and based on what one learnt from the previous lockdowns; it should be good enough to eliminate the disease.
As a step towards combating the COVID-19 spread, on Wednesday, the government notified that passengers arriving from the UK and the US would need to show negative results from tests taken in less than 72 hours before departing. The rule is applicable to US and UK passengers from 15 January. According to the NZ government, the only city on route from the UK to New Zealand that doesn’t need pre-departure test is Doha.
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