The New Zealand government announced free masks and rapid antigen tests on Thursday in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19 and relieve pressure on the country’s health system, which is dealing with an influx of COVID and influenza patients.
The number of new COVID cases in New Zealand has increased significantly in the last few weeks, and authorities predict that this wave of Omicron will be worse than the first.
The hospital system is already dealing with increased wait times and surgery cancellations.
‘There’s no doubt that the combination of an increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, the worst flu season in recent memory, and corresponding staff absences is putting health workers and the entire health system under extreme strain,’ said Ayesha Verrall, Minister for COVID-19 Response, in a statement.
New Zealand, which has a population of 5.1 million people, reported 11,382 new cases of COVID on Thursday, bringing the total number of people infected with the virus to 68,737. 765 of those 765 cases are currently hospitalised.
New Zealand’s quick response to the pandemic, combined with the country’s geographic isolation, kept the country largely COVID-free until the end of last year. The government, on the other hand, abandoned its zero-COVID policy earlier this year, after the population had been largely immunised and the virus had been allowed to spread.
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