Results imminent of first suspected case of coronavirus in New Zealand, amid WHO global emergency

Friday, 31 January 2020

The test results of New Zealand's first suspected coronavirus case are expected to be released on Saturday.

Ministry of Health Director-General Dr Ashley Bloomfield has said that the person fitted the definition of a suspected case and was being managed appropriately. The person had come forward to Auckland Hospital, and was in isolation there, he said on Friday.

A pilot wearing a protective suit parks a cargo plane at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province, on January 28.

There was 'no blame or shame', he said. If it was a confirmed case, the aim would then be to stop any further transmission, and keep up rigorous surveillance and public messages to get people to come forward and seek medical advice.

China now has 9709 confirmed coronavirus cases in the country with 213 deaths, according to state media outlets. At least 100 cases have been recorded outside mainland China, and seven other countries have reported person-to-person transmission of the virus.

WHO executives, from left, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organisation with Michael Ryan, Executive Director, WHO Health Emergencies Programme, and Maria van Kerkhove, Head of the Outbreak Investigation Task Force.

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Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield.

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Bloomfield would not say if the person was from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic, or a New Zealand citizen. He did not have details about where the person had been.

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The person was in a special isolation room, which had 'negative pressure ventilation' that stopped the possibility of a virus being carried out in the air. The staff looking after the person had to follow strict requirements for personal protection.

The pandemic plan would not necessarily change if the suspected Auckland case was confirmed, he said.

'We have advice in hospitals on how to manage suspect cases and if they are confirmed, how to treat them.

'What we are interested in doing is identifying any suspected cases, confirm whether or not they are cases and then stopping any onward transmission,' Bloomfield said.

Prime minister Jacinda Ardern outlines measures underway to evacuate and help NZ citizens at risk of Coronavirus infection.

The World Health Organisation has declared that the coronavirus epidemic in China now constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. But New Zealand authorities say there are no plans to screen passengers arriving from coronavirus-affected countries.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the decision after a meeting of its emergency committee, an independent panel of experts, amid mounting evidence of the virus' spread to some 19 countries.

A declaration of a global emergency typically brings greater money and resources, but may also prompt nervous governments to restrict travel and trade to affected countries.

Bloomfield updated media on Friday afternoon following a meeting of the Government's top level security committee, which Stuff revealed was quietly convened earlier this week. The Officials Committee for Domestic and External Security Coordination - otherwise known as ODESC - manages national security and response during an emerging or security event.

The meeting, triggered by the WHO declaration, discussed the logistics for the planning to get Kiwis out of Wuhan and getting the clearance from China, he said.

The work the ministry had done so far had been appropriate and effective and in line with the pandemic plan in place, the committee confirmed.

Bloomfield added: 'We think our border response at the moment is appropriate and proportionate.'

LOWER MORTALITY RATE

The evidence of the epidemiology of the virus confirmed the initial assessments, that the level of contagiousness is 'not terribly high' and nowhere near as high as measles, he said.

While the number of cases had significantly increased, the number of deaths had not increased at the same rate, he said.

The mortality rate for the virus was initially thought to be between 2 per cent or 3 per cent, but the current evidence shows it was below that, he said.

EVACUATION PLANS

A lot of work going into the logistics to get the flight into China, but not all passengers were guaranteed a place on the flight.

Health staff would travel to China and screen passengers getting on the flight, to ensure they were fit to fly, he said.

'If we feel they are unwell and infectious, and it is appropriate they receive medical attention there [China], then that is what will happen.'

The officials would then get clearances for the people to get out of China and make the arrangements for those people when they arrive back in New Zealand.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Health Minister David Clark and Ministry of Health Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield update media on coronavirus becoming an officially notified virus on Thursday.

The ministry had advised precautions that could be taken on the flight, to reduce transmission between passengers on the flight and to protect the crew, he said.

'We are working across government to make sure that all the necessary steps are taken to be able to get those people here, keep them safe and protect the Air NZ crew.'

He would not giving timings for the flight, and said the minister needed to ensure everything was in place before the flight could go ahead.

Bloomfield had provided the Minister of Health with 'appropriate' options for quarantine, but would not say where or how many options there were.

National Party health spokesman Michael Woodhouse said the Ministry of Health should now increase its efforts to manage the risk at the border.

Decisions were being considered, he said.

VIRUS SPREAD THE MAIN CONCERN

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said New Zealand was using its relationship with China to help get permission for the evacuation of Kiwis from Wuhan.

Air New Zealand has announced it will cut back on flights to Shanghai, in anticipation of a reduced desire to travel to China.

Normally seven weekly return flights travel from Auckland to Shanghai, this will be reduced to four weekly flights between February 18 and March 31. Those with tickets for cancelled flights will be contacted directly.

Some countries are curtailing flights to China, with American and Unite Airlines, British Airways German carrier Lufthansa, Israel's El Al, Scandinavian Airlines, Egypt Air, Turkish Airlines suspending flights, as did some in India and Kazakhstan.

The WHO's Ghebreyesus said the declaration of an emergency 'is not a vote of non-confidence in China…on the contrary, WHO continues to have the confidence in China's capacity to control the outbreak.

A community worker checks the temperature of courier in an Express station in Hubei Province, Wuhan, China. Due to a transit shut down and lack of supplies, couriers have became the city's suppliers.

'Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems, and which are ill-prepared to deal with it.'

Bloomfield said earlier on Friday: 'The advice to all counties [from WHO] was to be prepared for containment, active surveillance, early detection and trace management, and prevention of onward spread. And to share full data with WHO.

Dr Peter Drobac from the University of Oxford says that the coronavirus outbreak in China is 'cause for real concern but not cause for panic.'.

'We have acted very much in line with the WHO advice and in accordance with our pandemic plan.'

Bloomfield said that anyone who has travelled to Wuhan or to Hubei providence should self isolate for the next few days.

New Zealand can also now test for the virus within hours. Bloomfield said Crown research body ESR will run a batch of tests daily.

Bloomfield added that Kiwis should be 'no more concerned than they were yesterday. We are concerned but not alarmed'.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said well over a hundred Kiwis have registered to get on an evacuation flight out of Wuhan. MFAT confirmed on Friday night there were 179 people in Wuhan registered on the Safe Travel website.

New Zealand still had to wait on clearance for the flight to leave but good progress was being made with the Chinese authorities, logistics and managing the protocols of those returning, she said.

Some of the countries who had managed to extract their citizens had waited up to a week for clearance, she said.

MFAT said anyone taking the Wuhan flight would be charged $500.

It would be very likely the flight would assist other nationalities, but priority would be given to New Zealand's Pacific neighbours, she said.

The emphasis of the WHO emergency declaration was for support to go to health systems that may not be able to cope, she said.

'We are working with the governments of the Pacific who may need to get their citizens out and to assist with quarantine measures.'

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said New Zealand was using its good relationship with China to help get permission for the evacuation of Kiwis.

It has been reported that Australia, which announced a partnership with New Zealand this week, is yet to gain permission from the Chinese government to evacuate.

While Peters could not comment on what was happening with Australia, he did not think it would have any bearing on the Air New Zealand charter flight.

National Party health spokesman Michael Woodhouse said the Ministry of Health should now increase its efforts to manage the risk at the border - something it should have done days ago, Woodhouse said.

The ministry should also be working with immigration officials to identify passengers arriving from affected countries, not just flights from China, he said.

He believed every arriving passenger, in that risk category, should be provided with information on arrival.