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New Zealand will continue its containment approach to AH1N1 flu, as all cases have originated from people coming into the country from abroad, the Ministry of Health says.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a AH1N1 flu pandemic early on Friday.
The number of confirmed cases of AH1N1, or swine flu, in New Zealand has hit 27, with the ministry expecting more positive tests on Friday.
Ten of those who had tested positive for the flu were being treated with Tamiflu and were in isolation. The rest have recovered. There are another 10 "probable" cases awaiting confirmation.
Ministry of Health chief advisor Ashley Bloomfield said the ministry had been preparing for a pandemic announcement from the WHO for some time.
"It came as no surprise," he told Radio New Zealand.
All of the swine flu cases in New Zealand had come from people who had either come into the country from overseas, or were contracted by people in close contact with travellers who had been abroad, Dr Bloomfield said.
"So we can trace them to travellers and that is why at this stage we are staying with that containment phase because ... we have no evidence as yet of community spread within New Zealand."
But the ministry advised people not to cancel or postpone overseas trips for the July school holidays - "simply because we don't know what the situation will be in early July."
He said people who had arrived back in the country from places with a high swine flu rate should continue to go to work and school if they were not showing any flu symptoms.
Health Minister Tony Ryall said just because a pandemic had been announced, New Zealanders should not be alarmed.
"New Zealand is going to carry on the way that we have and we will keep people fully informed of any changes that need to be made," Ryall said.
The ministry had done projections on how bad things could get, he said.
"The upper level is of course you might end up with 20 or 30 percent of the population with swine flu, but we don't know and that's why New Zealand is running its very tight containment strategy, it's working well for New Zealand."
Ryall emphasised the WHO decision was about international spread of the illness, not severity. Cases in New Zealand were no worse than the normal winter flu.
He said it was important to contain the flu as much as possible or health services could become overloaded.
General practitioners were preparing to face the issue and had requested improved access to protective masks, gloves and gowns to enable them to treat patients who may arrive at their practices with swine flu.
Medical Association chairman Peter Foley said only some district health boards had released funds to ensure general practices remained fully stocked with supplies.
Auckland Hospital alert
Meanwhile, Auckland Hospital is on high alert and a child centre has closed after a nurse and her child tested positive for swine flu after returning to the country from a family holiday in the United Kingdom on Saturday.
The nurse worked one shift at Auckland Hospital's Renal Medicine and Transplant unit on Monday before falling ill.
Her child went to the ABC Childcare Centre in Remuera on the same day.
The child-care centre has been closed temporarily and will remain so until Tuesday and efforts are being made to contact children who were there on Monday.
Flu takes toll
Seasonal flu hits up to 20%, about 760,000 New Zealanders each year. On average, 2.7% of the population (156,000 people) will go to their GP because of flu each year and an estimated 95 people will die.
Treasury estimates in 2007 of the economic impact in New Zealand of a flu pandemic ranged from a 10% drop in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for an epidemic of a severe form, to a fall-off of between 1% and 2% for a relatively benign virus.
But acting assistant Treasury Secretary Colin Hall has said those figures had probably been overtaken by the global recession.
Are you a relative of a patient in Ward 71 at Auckland Hospital? ONE News would like to talk to you.
ONE News would also like to hear from parents of children who attend the ABC Childcare Centre in Remuera.
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