New Zealand is deploying a medical team to Niue to help with its growing Covid-19 outbreak, at the request of the small island nation's government.
The team, comprising of a public health physician and a laboratory scientist, is set to arrive on Saturday. It'll then be bolstered by three nurses and a doctor from the Pasifika Medical Association.
The island's hospital is struggling with an influx of cases, with a large number of staff made to isolate after exposure, the Broadcasting Corporation of Niue reported.
New Zealand has already provided nearly 3000 tests to the island, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) spokesperson told 1News today.
There are currently around 55 active cases in the country, since the outbreak began in March, and it appears the infection rate is slowing.
The New Zealand aid is being sent at the request of Niue's government, an MFAT spokesperson confirmed.
"The physician will assist the Niue public health team, and the laboratory scientist will assist with Niue's Covid-19 testing programme for arriving travellers and the community," the spokesperson said.
Niue opened its border to quarantine-free travel from New Zealand in June for the first time in the pandemic.
BCN reported the hospital is suffering from a shortage of nurses to work in outpatient, hospital wards, and the Covid-19 isolation wards.
Niue Director-General of Health and Social Services Gaylene Tasmania requested New Zealand's help, but is hopeful infections will continue tracking downwards, the broadcaster reported.
"There are two things that can explain the numbers. Either people have Covid, they are asymptomatic and are not testing so we're not getting reports of new cases or the other reason could be that it really has started to fall and there are not very many cases out there in the community," she told BCN.
But she warned numbers could spike at "any time".
"If there's someone in the household who's tested positive, if there are six or seven other people in that household it is very likely that it will spread and that's why you get these big numbers.
"You've got complete or total households actually coming down with Covid."
The New Zealand Government said it will continue to work closely with Niue as it gets through the outbreak.
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