NMH COVID-19 Update: 19 May 2020

Posted 4 years ago

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This update provides information about confirmed cases in the Nelson Marlborough region, community-based assessment centre (CBAC) data and any new information for our communities.

Please go to the main COVID-19 website for information about the CBACs, contact tracing, hospital planning and more: https://www.nmdhb.govt.nz/covid-19

 

1. Total confirmed cases in the Nelson Marlborough region

The total number of confirmed and probable cases remains the same since the last case was announced on 30 April in Nelson.

LOCATION	CONFIRMED CASES	PROBABLE CASES
Nelson	23	5
Marlborough	14	7
TOTALS	37	12

• All cases are thought to be travel-related and there is no strong evidence of a community outbreak in the region
• All cases are in isolation at home or in their place of usual residence.
• There are no cases in hospital.

Please refer to the Ministry of Health’s website for further detail: Case confirmation dates, gender and age group and travel details: https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-current-situation/covid-19-current-cases/covid-19-current-cases-details

2. Recovery rates

The number of people who have recovered from COVID-19 is now 48, meaning that there is one remaining case who is being monitored and supported by the Nelson Marlborough Public Health Service.

The recovery rate is a subset of the total number of confirmed cases. The Ministry of Health defines a recovered case as: At least 10 days have passed since they first had symptoms of COVID-19, and they have had no symptoms for at least 48 hours.

Like most countries, we don't usually test again to make sure, because the test result shows whether or not they have remnants of the virus, not whether or not they can infect other people.

3. Community-based assessment centre (CBAC) data

The total numbers of people assessed and tested between 15 and 18 May are:

DATE	LOCATION	NUMBER OF PEOPLE ASSESSED	NUMBER OF PEOPLE TESTED (SWABS TAKEN)
15-18 May	Nelson	191	183
	Blenheim	90	84
	Motueka	35	34
Total		316	301

Golden Bay assessment centre data has been collected since 13 April: Data is included in the running totals table below.

Running total CBAC data, by location

	NELSON	BLENHEIM	MOTUEKA	GOLDEN BAY
24 MARCH to 18 MAY	Assessed: 2962	Assessed: 1232	Assessed: 748
	Tested: 2413	Tested*: 1006	Tested: 530
13 APRIL to 8 MAY				Assessed: 91
				Tested: 79

*From 8 May, Blenheim CBAC data includes asymptomatic testing. All other data is for symptomatic testing only.

Please note:

1. This data does not include testing conducted by GPs in healthcare centres (clinics), in people’s homes or by clinicians in hospitals.

4. Targeted surveillance testing continues

Up to 220 asymptomatic (ie, without COVID-19 symptoms) people, in six priority areas, will be offered a surveillance test this week under new national direction to DHBs for this kind of testing. The six groups are:

i) Returning international travellers and their household contacts
ii) Airport staff
iii) Māori healthcare staff and Māori members of the public aged 35+
iv) Pasifika people, including RSE workers coming to the Nelson Marlborough region from other parts of NZ
v) Pharmacy workers
vi) Shipping workers

NMH’s surveillance testing programme stared two weeks ago. Please refer to this news item for more information: https://www.nmdhb.govt.nz/nmdhb-news-and-notices/targeted-surveillance-testing-starts-this-week/

5. For further information

Please go to the NMH website COVID-19 page for information about:

• The definition of a ‘probable’ case
• Why DHBs only release case information by territorial authority regions (and not by towns or smaller regions)
• Contact tracing
• Community-based assessment centre (CBAC) locations
• The difference between screening, assessment and testing at a CBAC
• Hospital visitation rules
• Changes to planned care (elective) procedures
• Where to find the best COVID-19 information and advice
• Resources to download and share
• Other frequently-asked questions