A covid-19 positive patient is being flown to New Zealand from Fiji today despite an earlier decision by the Ministry of Health to decline the transfer.
The infected patient from Fiji is being flown to Auckland for hospital treatment.
It is reported the person involved is a high-profile staff member employed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) currently working in the covid-ravaged country.
The patient was due to board a special flight that was set to arrive in Auckland this afternoon.
The transfer comes after the Ministry of Health said earlier this week that the formal request had been declined on clinical grounds due to ICU being at full capacity.
The fluidity of the situation at the metro-Auckland DHB ICUs determined this treatment can be provided according to the Ministry of Health.
The receiving hospital is yet to be confirmed, and will be determined by the treatment required by the patient and the capacity in the respective ICUs.
There are appropriate isolation and infection prevention and control plans in place at all the metro-DHB hospitals to accommodate this patient, according to the Ministry of Health.
Any patient coming from Fiji, or any other country, is covered by protocols to protect against the risk of spread of covid-19.
New Zealand’s Ministry of Health said strong protocols were in place to manage the risk of transferring the patient.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz
