13 more cases (8 confirmed, 5 probable) – total now 1,422
No more deaths so that total stands at 11.
51 more recovered cases, total now 867.
20 in hospital (that’s an increase of 6) , 3 in ICU, 2 of those in a critical condition.
No live media conference today. Apparently they were never planned for Saturdays but they were run for the last two Saturdays because deaths were announced.
Testing groups of the public is continuing, now in Auckland.
All (about 340) tests processed from the Queenstown supermarket site returned a negative result.
All 308 tests done in the Waikato (Otorohanga, Hamilton, Matamata, Cambridge, and Te Awamutu) were also negative.
All test results to date done in Christchurch are also negative.
| Total | Change in last 24 hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of confirmed cases in New Zealand | 1,094 | 8 |
| Number of probable cases | 328 | 5 |
| Number of confirmed and probable cases | 1,422 | 13 |
| Number of cases currently in hospital | 20 | 6 |
| Number of recovered cases | 867 | 51 |
| Number of deaths | 11 | 0 |
Notes:
- A probable case is one without a positive laboratory result, but which is treated like a confirmed case based on its exposure history and clinical symptoms. For more details please refer to Case definition of COVID-19 infection.
- Recovered cases are people who had the virus, are at least 10 days since onset and have not exhibited symptoms for 48 hours, and have been cleared by the health professional responsible for their monitoring.
- The number of confirmed and probable cases reported in the last 24 hours includes cases which were entered on an earlier date as ‘under investigation’ or ‘suspected’ whose status has now been changed to confirmed or probable.
The number of deaths linked to the coronavirus pandemic has reached 150,000, according to an unofficial Reuters tally.
However, the true figure is almost certainly a lot higher.
Authorities say thousands of people – many of them in nursing homes – have died with Covid-19 symptoms without being tested for the virus, and have thus gone uncounted.
China, confirming long-held suspicions, has now acknowledged that the death toll in Wuhan is 50 percent higher than earlier reported.
And in Italy, Spain, Britain, the US and elsewhere, governments have been revising their tolls or openly questioning the accuracy of them.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/414541/live-covid-19-updates-from-nz-and-around-the-world
A warning the ‘herd immunity’ may not work with Covid-19.
Reuters: WHO unsure antibodies protect against COVID, little sign of herd immunity
The World Health Organization is not sure whether the presence of antibodies in blood gives full protection against reinfection with the new coronavirus, Mike Ryan, the WHO’s top emergencies expert, told a briefing on Friday.
Ryan also said that even if antibodies were effective there was little sign that large numbers of people had developed them and were beginning to offer so-called “herd immunity” to the broader population.
“A lot of preliminary information coming to us right now would suggest quite a low percentage of population have seroconverted (to produce antibodies),” he said.
“The expectation that … the majority in society may have developed antibodies, the general evidence is pointing against that, so it may not solve the problem of governments.”
That may prompt a bit of rethinking by some governments.
I wonder if that’s an ominous sign for possible vaccines.
Also: Recovered coronavirus patients are testing positive again. Can you get re-infected?
The whānau of the man who wrote ‘Pokarekare Ana’ are inviting people to lift their lockdown spirits by taking part in a mass performance of the waiata this afternoon.
At 3pm, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra together with the Tomoana whānau and composer Ngatai Huata will perform the song attributed to Paraire Henare Tomoana a century ago.
People are encouraged to play it on any instrument or sing along from outside their house, as long as they maintain their bubble.
Before the performance starts, there’ll be a countdown from 10-to-3 on the orchestra’s Facebook page.
Watch it live here: live.nzso.co.nz
They have a link on RNZ to Kiri Te Kanawa but I don’t like that, so here’s something I think is easier to listen to.
Your NZ 
Duker
/ 18th April 2020Patricia
/ 18th April 2020Bwahaha. People have become besotted with him, not just in NZ either. They think he’s a sexpot.
David
/ 18th April 2020Some bloody idiot in Timaru with Covid decided to pop down to Countdown on Wednesday at 1pm.
Idiots like that will give Ardern an excuse to lock us up past the Anzac weekend.
Kitty Catkin
/ 18th April 2020Bloody idiot doesn’t begin to cover it.
I wonder if anyone will do anything about Hone Harawira. I wouldn’t be game to be the one who made a complaint to the police about a Harawira. The repercussuins wouldn’t be worth it.
Why he thought the greasy, fatty plate of pork interesting enough to display is a mystery. It’s enough to turn anyone vegetarian; so is the plate of bacon and eggs in the other photo,
Kitty Catkin
/ 18th April 2020repercussions….
Pink David
/ 18th April 2020Perhaps he need some food.
Kitty Catkin
/ 18th April 2020Yes, and if he wore a proper mask…point taken. Not everyone can afford the only online deliveries that are actually available (forget about the supermarkets; the slots are always booked) Starve to death or risk prosecution…
I wonder if there’s any help available for those who have no one to ask.
Kitty Catkin
/ 18th April 2020I have seen the 1400+ figure being quoted as the number of active cases. Surely it’s time to remove the ambiguity and have a category for active cases. At the moment it sounds as if these are additional to the actual number of cases. I believe that other countries report active cases, but could be wrong on this and am willing to be corrected.
Alan Wilkinson
/ 18th April 2020So if there are about 600 known active cases and there were 50% unknown in the population that would currently be say 600 in 4M or 1:7000 people. It would take a lot of random tests to find one.
Alan Wilkinson
/ 18th April 2020Darn, wrong post.
Duker
/ 18th April 20205 mill people in NZ
Alan Wilkinson
/ 18th April 2020Yes, thought I’d be generous and take out some kids not supposed to be in supermarkets now.
David
/ 18th April 2020https://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/121102617/man-with-covid19-arrested-after-shopping-at-timaru-supermarket
So according to the medical officer of health there is absolutely no risk from the Covid carrier to anyone else in the supermarket at all, so did the journalist not ask why is the country shut down then. Does someone with Covid not represent a risk now ?
This happened last wednesday and Ardern thinks saturday afternoon is a good time to slip this one out, she has form on the friday afternoon releases.
David
/ 18th April 2020https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/121102312/coronavirus-david-parker-tells-councils-to-keep-consenting-during-covid19-crisis
So lets get the economy working properly so Labour want councils to ignore to a degree the RMA, the same David Parker who spent years slamming National for t=wanting to reform this horrid piece of legislation. Irony.
Blazer
/ 18th April 2020why didn’t National reform the RMA?
David
/ 18th April 2020Didnt have the numbers, Maori Party and United Future wouldnt do it and Labour said no. If I was Bridges I would be banging down Parkers door.
Pete George
/ 18th April 2020“Maori Party and United Future wouldnt do it” on National’s terms and National wouldn’t budge, so chose all or nothing. They were mostly responsible for failing to reform the RMA.
David
/ 18th April 2020No point in doing half arsed reforms, political capital decimated for few gains. Its maths, in MMP you have to know how to count.
Blazer
/ 18th April 2020They did have the numbers,just wasn’t a priority…changing the high country pastoral leases and that type of thing were more important.
At least Key and Thiel bought into them.