There are just eight active cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand, but a second wave is still going to be a possibility in this country for "a number of months", the Director-General of Health has warned.
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Speaking at the regular Health Ministry media conference this afternoon, Dr Ashley Bloomfield pointed out that the WHO had reminded countries to be cautious about relaxing restrictions.
"So we need to continue the hard work we've all put in to ensure we continue to maintain our zero cases, our ongoing downward trajectory, and that we don't allow a second peak to occur."
Eradication of the coronavirus has to be a global effort, Dr Bloomfield said.
"It's very hard for New Zealand to say we're on a pathway to eradicate a virus that clearly is still incredibly prevalent and growing in prevalence offshore.
"We are very interested in opening up our borders more and more and in that case, elimination remains the strategy, because it's going to be a prolonged effort."
See how the rest of the day unfolded with RNZ's blog:
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- See all RNZ Covid-19 news
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- Scientific hand-washing advice to avoid infection
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- The Coronavirus Podcast
