Covid-19: What happened in New Zealand and around the world on 9 May
s Covid-19 spreads around the world, it can be daunting keeping up with the information. For RNZ, our responsibility is to give you verified, up to the minute, trustworthy information to help you make decisions about your lives and your health. We'll also be asking questions of officials and decision makers about how they're responding to the virus. Our aim is to keep you informed.
New Zealand reported two new cases of Covid-19 today, but despite the recent lower figures, a newly-released official document says the country could remain in alert levels 2 and 3 for years.
Today's new cases included one confirmed and one probable case, both linked to the St Margaret's Hospital & Rest Home cluster in Auckland.
The confirmed case was a household contact of a previous case linked to the cluster, while the probable case was a nurse employed by Waitemata District Health Board.
The nurse had been caring for St Margaret's patients at Waitakere Hospital and was among the close contacts of other positive cases.
No further deaths were reported, so the death toll remains at 21.
As the country prepared for a potential move to alert level 2 next week, a Cabinet paper released yesterday said New Zealand could remain at levels 2 and 3 for "a moderate amount of time".
The paper - dated 15 April - noted that if the country needed to move between the levels for one to two years, rules could be changed to fit different circumstances.
However, the paper said the meaning of alert level 4 should not change.
It stated alert level 4 was the government's most serious response and people needed to know immediately what it meant if the country needed to move to it again in future.
- If you have symptoms of the coronavirus, call the NZ Covid-19 Healthline on 0800 358 5453 (+64 9 358 5453 for international SIMs) or call your GP - don't show up at a medical centre
