New Zealand is right to take a precautionary approach to coronavirus despite its low mortality rate, says Ministry of Health director-general of health and chief executive Dr Ashley Bloomfield.
There are no confirmed cases in New Zealand and no one in the country has fulfilled the definition of a suspected case, Dr Bloomfield told TVNZ1's Breakfast today.
However, he added, “we have several people who are being investigated and for whom tests are being sent off".
“As soon as we do have a confirmed case, we will be informing people about that.”
Dr Bloomfield said he is both concerned and confident, despite coronavirus being less contagious than measles.
“Am I concerned it could escalate? Yes, and in part because there is a lot we don’t know yet,” he said.
“Do I feel confident we have the right measures and preparation and planning in place to prevent that happening? I am also very confident about that.
“Also, as the data firms about its infectiousness and also its mortality, it doesn’t seem to be getting any worse. It’s not as contagious as something like measles. The mortality rate is around two or three per cent, compared with 10 per cent for SARS.
“We’re treating it as a major concern - we’re taking a very precautionary approach. This is the sort of situation our pandemic planning is exactly there for.”
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