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Health Minister Chris Hipkins has announced new testing requirements for international maritime crews arriving in New Zealand.
“Yesterday I directed officials to consult with the maritime sector on tightening the requirements for international maritime crews to enter the country,” Hipkins said.
“Ultimately, this will mean mandatory testing for all replacement maritime crews arriving in New Zealand, regardless of the time they spend in transit. This will begin starting next week, with any maritime crew in isolation administered for more than 24 hours obtaining a Covid-19 test.
“At the same time, we will also test the maritime crews leaving New Zealand, providing end-to-end protection in this area.”
KELLY HODEL / Things
Covid-19 testing will be mandatory for all replacement maritime crew arriving in New Zealand, regardless of the time they spend in transit, says Health Minister Chris Hipkins.
Speaking to the media on Friday, Hipkins said it was “highly unlikely” that there was another line of Covid-19 infection in the community, following further testing on the group of maritime workers. This was “good news”, showing that the cluster was contained very quickly.
Speaking about the new testing requirements announced Friday, Hipkins said the current border requirements have served us well, with recent cases caught and quickly contained. But he said there was no room for complacency.
“As our knowledge of Covid-19 grows, we are always looking for possible improvements.”
“The Government recognizes that mandatory testing can present some challenges for the maritime sector. Officials will continue to work with key stakeholders to ensure that these new measures do not disrupt supply chains or put undue pressure on our managed isolation facilities.
“This new requirement is a strong but carefully considered change that ensures that our maritime border is secure and that, to the greatest extent possible, we reduce the risk of the spread of Covid-19, while protecting our economy.
“We are also taking further steps to ensure that the Ministry of Health’s infection prevention and control guidelines are consistently followed. I want to acknowledge the work that the maritime industry and ports have done so far to implement change for both seafarers and international workers.
“These changes balance the need to keep Covid-19 off the border, while at the same time protecting the supply chain to ensure the flow of import and export goods to and from New Zealand,” he said.
Speaking to the media, he said this was a new layer of protection. We needed to keep our shipping lines open, and he was confident that our regime “was sound” and that these measures further strengthened this regime.
More talks will take place with the ports, and they had some logistical problems to resolve in the coming weeks.
