UC health lecturer and Chair of the College of Emergency Nurses New Zealand, Sandy Richardson, is warning that we cannot get complacent about Covid-19.
Richardson told TVNZ’s Breakfast programme that emergency nurses are worried about a second wave and that New Zealanders are no longer practising Covid-19 measures such as social distancing and washing their hands regularly.
New Zealand eradicated community transmission of the disease and has returned to almost-normal level 1 conditions, however recent arrivals from overseas continue to bring the virus to New Zealand. Quarantine measures have been overhauled this week and compassionate leave has been cancelled to capture Covid-positive arrivals before they mix in the community.
"We hear that people have come into the country and they are Covid positive. We don't need to be unkind about where they might've travelled to and what might've happened,” she told John Campbell on the Breakfast programme.
"We are going to have people return to this country who are Covid positive, that's a given. We don't have community transmission at this point but we can still have it. It can still sneak back in if we're not careful.”
Her advice to the country was: "please wash your hands, please be thoughtful, please be kind".
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