Wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) will continue to be optional for rest home workers, despite more concern for the high-risk age group they care for.
During Saturday's press conference the Ministry of Health's Director of Public Health Dr Caroline McElnay was asked whether wearing PPE would become compulsory for all aged care workers in light of recent COVID-19 announcements.
New Zealand's second and fourth deaths, a woman in her 90s and a man in his 70s, were among 30 confirmed coronavirus cases from Rosewood Rest Home and Hospital in Christchurch.
Other clusters have broken out at George Manning retirement village (14 cases) and a rest home in Waikato (also 14 cases), leading to questions of whether PPE should be compulsory for people working with the particularly vulnerable age group.
But Dr McElnay said while they plan to make PPE more available to rest home workers, wearing it is still optional.
"As we move into this next phase of our response in New Zealand we are seeing some of these critical areas where we are still seeing cases," she said.
"I think aged residential care in particular is highlighted as an area of need then we do need to make sure that people have access to PPE that they are using that in the correct manner.
"Our advice is if people in the clinic care wish to use a mask then they should use a mask. We are not restricting the use of PPE."
For now, they are continuing to recommend the advice from the World Health Organization which says only people who have COVID-19 or are caring for a confirmed case need to wear it.
But Dr McElnay did announce the Ministry of Health is setting up a new distribution system for PPE nationwide to ensure it is spread around the country to areas which have run out.
"We have a lot of PPE in the country and we are moving that around to places that need it. We've got more PPE coming in this week, we will have a new distribution system available for our PPE.
"We really want to make sure our staff have access to PPE so not only are they safe but they feel safe as well."
New Zealanders have begun importing protective equipment to manage the demand.
On April 5 a plane carrying 2.5 million disposable masks, 50,000 sterilised gowns, 140,000 medical alcohol wipes, 30,000 plastic face shields and 100,000 litres of hand sanitiser arrived in Auckland and more supplies are expected to come in the following weeks.
