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It has been confirmed New Zealand has its first critical case of H1N1 flu.
Health Minister Tony Ryall says while most of the 216 confirmed cases so far have been mild, one woman in Wellington Hospital with underlying health problems has contracted it and her condition is listed as serious.
She is a 30-year-old woman with a number of other serious health conditions, including being morbidly obese and has respiratory problems.
The news comes as the government admits it's now given up trying to contain the virus and is focussing on trying to manage it in the community.
Details of this new strategy were outlined at an official briefing on Friday morning.
Ryall says the change was just about how the outbreak was managed.
"We're remaining in code yellow, we are not moving to code red. This is a reflection of the spread not the severity of the flu," he says.
"We are moving today because of the widespread community transmission of swine flu, the fact that we've got large numbers of people out there in the community (infected) and our focus is now moving to helping those people in the community that have the illness."
"There's no reason for people to be alarmed. This, for most New Zealanders, will be a mild illness. It will be severe for some and we are making sure the health service is there to provide the care that's needed for those who will have severe symptoms."
New measures will be put in place in Wellington and Christchuch on Friday, and in Auckland early next week, which the ministry says will enable community-based health services manage the numbers of people with swine flu, as well as maintain services for people with other illnesses.
It is not telling people to cancel social gatherings, sports events and travel but to take sensible hygiene measures.
There are now 216 confirmed cases in New Zealand, up 63 on
Thursday's 153.
Check out the
Ministry of Health website for
more information.
