Covid 19 coronavirus: Kiwis evacuated from cruise ship off Uruguay arrive home

Thirteen New Zealanders have returned to their homeland after being stranded on a cruise ship run over by Covid-19.

Of 217 passengers, crew and personnel on the Greg Mortimer, 128 tested positive for the virus when tested last weekend.

Tauranga’s couple Tina and Graham are among the 16 New Zealanders who were trapped in their cabins on the ship off the coast of Uruguay.

The couple has spent most of the past month in a 4m by 9m cabin with a small balcony.

A registered Medevac flight carrying them and 11 other New Zealanders arrived at Auckland airport this afternoon from Melbourne.

They left Uruguay on Friday night. [NZT] on a flight to Australia, with 96 Australians who had also been on the cruise.

Tina tested positive for Covid-19, and although Graham did not test positive, health officials believed she likely had the virus and recovered before testing on the cruise began.

Her son Ben told NZME this morning that his family was “very relieved” because his parents were on flights home.

“They [wider family members] they were surprised … how bad the situation was there. “

Her parents were happy to “finally move,” she said, and her children were eager to see their grandparents after finishing two weeks in quarantine.

He said the Uruguayan government had been “fantastic” in helping the cruise passengers.

“I think everyone has done the best they can in the situation. No one, a few months ago, would have predicted where we are.”

Tina and Graham, whom NZME agreed not to name in full, had planned a three-week trip to Antarctica and South Georgia, but fever on board and trouble finding a place to anchor last month were cut short.

They left New Zealand on March 11 and their cruise left Argentina on March 15.

They were informed of the first fever on board on March 22 and locked themselves on board the Aurora Expeditions cruise ship, with food delivered to their rooms.

Graham’s brother Ross said the couple would be “incredibly relieved” and “absolutely delighted” to return to New Zealand.

He gave a “huge thanks to everyone who wove this repatriation flight to take them back home.”

“The situation has dragged and dragged and dragged. We have been very concerned about our family. It has been a very stressful time in their lives.”

In a statement last night, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said New Zealanders on board were “in a situation of real risk, where they could not safely take refuge on the ship and were in no condition to return home by means commercial”. .

“His impending return to New Zealand is a very welcome result.”

Since a large proportion of passengers in the Greg Mortimer tested positive for Covid-19, all passengers were treated as positive for Covid as a precautionary measure, he said.

“A considerable amount of work has been devoted to assisting the 16 New Zealanders, who were in a dangerous situation with very limited options.”

“We deeply appreciate the assistance we have received from Aurora Expeditions and the governments of Uruguay and Australia to make this repatriation flight possible.

“Consular officials are navigating extremely complex circumstances every day, to find solutions that work, although government chartered flights cannot be trusted in many places.”

“Our advice to New Zealanders abroad continues to be to either take refuge safely where you are or return home by commercial means.

“We are also working with our partners whenever possible to help people whose plans to return to New Zealand have been frustrated,” Peters said.

In a press release this morning, National Foreign Affairs spokesman Gerry Brownlee said New Zealanders stranded in India also needed help getting home.

“We have kiwis who are in India and are at risk of running out of drugs, money and being evicted from hotels.

“India has had increasing unrest since the issuance of its curfew. There has been an increase in crime and violence that is worsening an already worrying situation.”

He said the ministry’s advice to “take refuge in place” “does not provide practical help.”

Director-General for Health Ashley Bloomfield said that none of the New Zealanders returning from Uruguay needed hospital care.

All passengers will be immediately quarantined now that they have been repatriated.

A New Zealand Defense Force C-130 Hercules carrying 39 people from Vanuatu also arrived in New Zealand today.

“The deployment of the C-130 in Vanuatu with a helicopter and additional supplies to support the tropical cyclone response effort Harold gave us the opportunity to repatriate a large group of New Zealanders seeking to return home,” Winston Peters said in a statement. of press.

• Covid19.govt.nz – The official government Covid-19 advisory website