Two new cases, no deaths

Director of public health Dr Caroline McElnay announced two new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand yesterday.

One is a nurse linked to St Margaret’s Hospital in Auckland who had been looking after rest home patients, and the other was a probable case that has now been confirmed.

The combined total of confirmed and probable cases is 1490, an increase of one, as the other has been recategorised. There were no new deaths but three people are in hospital.

A total of 175,835 tests have been carried out, and 1347 people (90 per cent of cases) have recovered.

The recent drop in case numbers was ‘‘very reassuring’’, McElnay said.

Cases could be linked back to existing cases or clusters, but they were continuing to keep a close eye on any cases to identify ‘‘patterns of disease’’.

‘‘Play it safe, we do not want a second wave. What you are doing in level three is working,’’ McElnay said.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson said they were doing everything they could to mitigate the effects of job losses.

The week ending May 1 saw 4021 people accessing the jobseeker benefit.

The goal was to keep the unemployment rate as low as possible. The wage subsidy scheme had helped, but the rate would go up, he said, and they were trying to mitigate it as best they could.

The benefits of moving down alert levels was clear in terms of business, but these low case numbers posed a warning to keep up the good work. ‘‘We do not want to yo-yo between levels. We have to stay the course.’’

The Budget to be released next week was ‘‘just one moment on our road to recovery,’’ he said.

Normally the Budget represented the entirety of a government’s planned spending for the year ahead, but this was not the case this year.

It would give Kiwis a sense of direction, and provide support to public services.

Robertson then put on his ‘‘sports minister’s hat’’ and said the return to sport and recreation needed to be managed carefully.

Sports bodies, like those for netball and rugby, would take time to meet all public health guidelines, and the Government was working with them to make this possible.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern revealed on Thursday what the country could expect with a drop to alert level two including reopening of schools, shops and restaurants with restrictions. The Government will decide on Monday whether the country will drop to level two or remain at level three.

When asked about South African repatriation flights, Robertson said an arrangement with Qatar Airways went south and the airline cancelled a number of flights that were scheduled.

All options to get Kiwis home were being examined, and MFAT was working on returning Kiwis from all around the world.

Air New Zealand has been under fire this week for failing to follow distancing rules on flights. Robertson said the airline understood the importance of physical distancing and would be implementing it dependent on the type of plane.

Smaller planes might make that ‘‘a little bit more challenging’’.

When asked about the cuts to ministers’ salaries, Robertson said Government was in the process of finalising legislation that would allow for it.

‘‘The commitment to take that 20 per cent cut absolutely remains.’’

‘‘Play it safe, we do not want a second wave. What you are doing in level three is working.’’ Dr Caroline McElnay Director of public health