Friday 14 August 2020

Covid-19: worrying re-emergence in New Zealand

 There has been an outbreak of 29 new cases of the virus involving Auckland and a town south of the capital, all linked, according to official New Zealand sources. A case of 31st July in Wellington has also come to light as a result of contact-tracing from the Auckland cases. The New Zealand administration has been swift to reimpose strict social control measures.

Prime Minister Ardern admitted that the source may not ever be identified.

“In terms of the ongoing investigation to identify where the virus originated from, there are still no clear connections at this point,” Ms Ardern said.

New Zealand could expect to see more cases from the cluster. "It will grow before it slows," she added.

"And it may continue to be linked to schools, churches and social gatherings, as it has done to date. We also know, based on overseas experience and our own, that it is possible to contain a cluster or outbreak without ever being able to identify its origin."


What is concerning is the possibility that the new outbreak is not the result of importation of the virus from abroad, That suggests that the fear of some scientists is well-founded: that the virus can establish itself undetected in a population, that the disease will always be with us. 

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