NEW ZEALAND: The New Zealand Government on Thursday announced free masks and rapid antigen tests as it tries to stem the spread of COVID-19 and relieve pressure on the country’s health system which is dealing with an influx of COVID and influenza patients.
There has been a significant jump in the number of new COVID cases in New Zealand in the past couple of week and authorities are forecasting that this wave of Omicron might be worse than the first.
The hospital system is already struggling with increases in wait times and surgeries having to be cancelled.
“There’s no question the combination of a spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalisations, the worst flu season in recent memory and corresponding staff absences are putting health workers and the whole health system under extreme pressure,” Ayesha Verrall, Minister for CovidVID-19 Response, said in a statement.
New Zealand, which has a population of 5.1 million, recorded 11,382 new cases of COVID on Thursday, with a total of 68,737 currently infected with the virus. Of those 765 cases are currently in hospital.
The Government is making free masks and tests more widely available, allowing pharmacies to sell COVID medicines and is expanding the criteria for who is eligible for antiviral medication.
- THE MALAY MAIL
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