Covid-19 is still a thing, but at least its trending downwards

Finally, some good news, Covid-19 case rates are trending downwards across all regions of New Zealand, as health officials say the “worst case scenario” previously modelled is now unlikely to unfold. 

Director-General of Health, and Dr Ashley Bloomfield gave the update on the state of the country’s Covid-19 outbreak at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon. 

The decrease in Covid-19 cases was also being seen in wastewater results and test positivity rates in people being admitted to hospital in the week to July 24. 

Bloomfield also highlighted some preliminary analysis of Covid-19-attributed deaths, showing “convincingly” how getting boosted was “one of the most important things you can do to reduce your risk of death”. 

People who had not received two doses of Covid-19 vaccine were six times more likely to die if they caught Covid-19 than someone who’d had at least one booster dose, when adjusted for all other factors. 

For people under 60, that risk was even higher – more than 13 times greater for those who were unvaccinated or had less than two doses, compared with someone who was boosted. 

Officials estimated half of all Covid-attributed deaths of people aged 20-60 could have been avoided if all of those people had been boosted. 

As we’ve come accustomed to, with all good news, comes the bad news. On Friday, the beloved Dr Ashley Bloomfield will be stepping down as the Director General of Health. Meaning kiwis will no longer be seeing the national icon on our television screens. 

For many people, Bloomfield was the bright face of hope that pulled us through the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021. For his duties and selflessness, Massive would like to encourage all students reading to pour one out for Daddy Bloomfield. You will be missed king x