Government publicity and communications about the latest Covid-19 outbreak will be reviewed by Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins, to see if they were effective.
Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas
There have been no new cases of the virus in the community today.
Hipkins said he was feeling positive that this outbreak had been contained, but said Auckland was not out of the woods yet.
"I've learned never to get too optimistic, but I'm feeling reasonably optimistic about this one, at this point."
Extensive testing and vigorous tracking down of people who needed testing had helped to manage and contain the potential spread, he said.
There was just one close contact remaining who the police are still trying to track down for testing.
While it’s encouraging to see another day without any community cases, we must all remain vigilant and continue to do our bit.
— Unite against COVID-19 (@covid19nz) March 7, 2021
Hipkins said there would be a nervous wait over the next week to feel sure that there had been no community transmission, but he added that if there had been, authorities would have expected to have seen more cases by now.
The next step would be reviewing whether the close contact and casual-plus contact categories were effective, after some had claimed it was confusing, he said.
However, Hipkins warned that changing part of the system could cause more communication challenges, so any changes must be made in such a way it would remain robust.
Alert Levels
— Unite against COVID-19 (@covid19nz) March 7, 2021
The Auckland region moved to Alert Level 2 this morning and will remain there until 6am Sunday 14 March. At Alert Level 2 people can go to school and work, travel between regions, and attend gatherings of up to 100 people.
- If you have symptoms of the coronavirus, call the NZ Covid-19 Healthline on 0800 358 5453 (+64 9 358 5453 for international SIMs) or call your GP - don't show up at a medical centre
