Dr McGrath

While the case numbers in New Zealand remain stable, the National Health Coordination Centre (NHCC) is supporting the health sector and wider government agencies to prepare well in case the situation worsens.

From today the Ministry of Health is providing a weekly snapshot that gives a fuller picture of the extent of this new influenza - numbers of people consulting GPs, and numbers admitted to hospital and in Intensive Care Units throughout the country.

The Ministry of Health has called on the community to be especially aware of those people who fall ill and may need good friends and neighbours to check on them.

Schools are being advised to keep a close eye on students and children with underlying health conditions.

The number of confirmed and probable cases reported to the Ministry of Health as at 3:00pm today are:
•    Five confirmed cases of Influenza A (H1N1) – no change since this morning’s update.

•    14 probable cases – this is down one since this morning’s update as one person’s H1N1 test returned negative.

New Zealand situation

Case numbers in New Zealand remain stable and we are maintaining our vigilance. Given the continuing increase in the number of overseas cases being notified to the World Health Organization, we also plan to strengthen messages to travellers coming into New Zealand

While the number of cases of the new influenza H1N1 are increasing in New Zealand, there are still relatively few cases and only isolated instances of community transmission.