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6440 new community cases of Covid reported today, 704 in hospital

Author
NZ Herald ,
Publish Date
Wed, 3 Aug 2022, 1:13PM
Photo / NZ Herald
Photo / NZ Herald

6440 new community cases of Covid reported today, 704 in hospital

Author
NZ Herald ,
Publish Date
Wed, 3 Aug 2022, 1:13PM

The number of patients in hospital with Covid is continuing to drop off, while community cases have surged by more nearly than 2000 in just a day.

Today's Covid update will be released in a statement from the Ministry of Health at 1pm.

Yesterday there were 7113 new cases in the community, up by nearly 2000 compared with Monday's 5312.

There were 738 people in hospital with the virus, including 15 in intensive care.

The total number of deaths attributable to Covid-19 had increased to 1563.

A third case of monkeypox was also confirmed in New Zealand yesterday.

The infected person had recently returned from overseas, the Ministry of Health said today.

"There is no evidence of community transmission from this case."

The person was isolating in the South Island, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, some school teachers have revealed the health problems they are still experiencing months after contracting Covid.

The pandemic has stretched schools to the limit this year, with sick leave among teaching staff already ballooning by 80 per cent.

An expert has said that the toll of Long Covid is an "occupational risk" for teachers on the front line.

For Auckland teacher Josh McMillan, symptoms like brain fog, fatigue and breathlessness have been a daily reality since a severe bout with the virus.

"Things that I've never experienced in my life have suddenly appeared," he told the Herald.

"Last week, I was ready to go home at one o'clock in the afternoon ... I just didn't have the brain power to get to the next lesson. It feels like I've become an old man."

Another Auckland secondary teacher, Richard Smythe, caught Covid-19 back in term one – most likely from pupils in his class who'd tested positive.

His infection left him with unexplained heart palpitations, constant tiredness and sleeping problems, until his GP finally diagnosed him with Long Covid.

"I'd wake up after having a 10-hour sleep and then feel like I needed another 10-hour sleep. That tiredness hasn't gone away."

Memory problems, too, have persisted – and there'd been times where he'd needed reminding on how to get to classrooms, or even what time of day school finished.

But, amid extended periods of sick leave, his biggest worry had been for his students.

"You have a heart for everyone you teach and you feel like you've let them down, even though you know it's not your fault."

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