Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Covid 19 coronavirus Delta outbreak: PM plays down similarities between NZ and Australia's worst hit states

NZ Herald
1 Sep, 2021 10:20 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

September 2 2021 There are 49 new Covid-19 cases today but Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that only seven of these were infectious while in the community. Northland will move to alert level 3 tonight.

COVID LATEST
* 687 cases - 32 people in hospital, including eight in intensive care
* New poll: What Kiwis really think of Covid elimination
* What will the next big Covid variant look like?
* Thomas Coughlan: National has forgotten the economy, it needs to remember
* href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/claire-trevett-judith-collins-is-not-the-only-villain-in-pantomime-of-the-lockdown-parliament/LNGN5U3SVGNFDJ75YFQWCMIXKI/" target="_blank">Claire Trevett: Is Judith Collins the only villain in 'pantomime' Parliament?
* Aucklanders 'running out of options' after food delivery cancellations

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is playing down fears that New Zealand could follow New South Wales and Victoria in being unable to eliminate Covid-19.

It comes as the number of cases in the community today looks set to go past 700.

Melbourne-based New Zealand epidemiologist Tony Blakely told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking he sees some worrying similarities between how the virus has been spreading in Sydney, in Melbourne, and now in Auckland.

Australia's two most populated states have all but given up on completely eliminating the virus as they struggle to contain surging cases of the Delta variant.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He hoped New Zealand would do better and not "be living with the virus like us".

STORY CONTINUES AFTER LIVE BLOG

STORY CONTINUES

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I think you should be fighting it hard for another week," Blakely said.

He also supported New Zealand continuing its elimination approach, at least for now.

But Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is playing down comparisons with New South Wales and Victoria.

She told ZM's Fletch, Vaughan and Megan the Australian East Coast outbreak has been going for longer.

Discover more

New Zealand

Fast food provides comfort in troubled times

01 Sep 10:25 PM
New Zealand|politics

MIQ escapee 'evaded CCTV, perimeter patrol and two fences'

02 Sep 05:00 AM

They've been bubbling away for a while and haven't been able to stamp out cases, so they're keeping restrictions while they vaccinate, she said.

Auckland University School of Medicine Professor Des Gorman told RNZ that the country should be living in a no-trust environment.

Gorman said people crossing the southern border should be vaccinated and wearing masks and wear them properly.

"We need to know exactly where they are."

Associate Health Minister Aupito William Sio told TVNZ this morning that so far it was looking positive for Northland moving to level 3 from tomorrow.

Sio said a report last night showed the testing of sewage still looked positive for Northland, as well as the rest of the country.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"So all in all it's positive."

The Government will give an update on the number of new Covid cases in the community at 1pm.

Yesterday, director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield warned the numbers would still "bounce' around but he believed it had reached its peak when 83 cases were reported on Sunday.

The 75 cases yesterday pushed the total number of cases in the community to 687, an increase on the 49 reported the previous day.

Some Auckland patients are also being transferred to other hospitals as pressure on the Auckland hospitals builds, according to RNZ.

Health Minister Andrew Little said the Ministry of Health and district health boards were also transferring patients to other centres. Any transfers were being handled carefully to ensure no spread, he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

This included people with spinal injuries who lived just south of the Bombay Hills being sent to Christchurch instead of Middlemore Hospital.

Additional space has also been made at the Auckland hospitals including Auckland City Hospital to make space for Covid-19 patients.

Speaking on TVNZ, Australasian College for Emergency Medicine president Dr John Bonning said the ICU had capacity at the moment, but was waiting for a potential further wave.

Bonning said while they were a lot more prepared this time, they did worry about some of the un-met healthcare need and if it got back to full business as usual with Covid on top of that, they would be a bit worried.

He said New South Wales was in a "very bad place" and if New Zealand hadn't locked down when it did, hospitals here potentially may not have been able to cope.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

Baywide rugby: Whaka look to break 19-year drought

Rotorua Daily Post

Revealed: ‘Major milestone’ for education system announced by Government 

Rotorua Daily Post

'Mum, I’m a strong boy aren’t I?’ Murdered 5-year-old's mother breaks down in court over final phone call with son


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Baywide rugby: Whaka look to break 19-year drought
Rotorua Daily Post

Baywide rugby: Whaka look to break 19-year drought

Whakarewarewa beat Greerton Marist 25-17 to reach the Baywide final.

14 Jul 05:17 AM
Revealed: ‘Major milestone’ for education system announced by Government 
Rotorua Daily Post

Revealed: ‘Major milestone’ for education system announced by Government 

14 Jul 04:00 AM
'Mum, I’m a strong boy aren’t I?’ Murdered 5-year-old's mother breaks down in court over final phone call with son
Rotorua Daily Post

'Mum, I’m a strong boy aren’t I?’ Murdered 5-year-old's mother breaks down in court over final phone call with son

14 Jul 02:41 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP