Covid 19 coronavirus: more tests for returnees from higher risk countries

The government has announced additional Covid-19 testing for people returning to New Zealand from higher-risk countries, including the UK and the US.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced this morning that an additional
The Covid-19 test will be required for returnees upon arrival in New Zealand starting at midnight on December 31.

And additional plans are in the works for pre-departure testing for those leaving the UK for New Zealand. The goal is to present them from mid-January.

The new border protection measures have been driven by the emergence of newer and more contagious virus variants around the world, and high rates of the disease in some countries.

“The additional PCR test will be applied on ‘day zero’, as returnees who have been in the UK or the United States for the previous 14 days go through New Zealand airport checks, or on ‘day one’ , after their arrival in a managed isolation and quarantine facility, “he said.

The new tests will be added to the current tests on day three and day 12.

“Returnees will also need to be isolated or quarantined in their assigned room in a facility until their initial testing has yielded a result,” Hipkins said.

“This means that if the result is positive, they will be transferred to a quarantine facility several days earlier than with the standard two-test regimen.

“We have been monitoring developments overseas very closely and, like many other countries, New Zealand has raised concerns about new variants of the virus and their potential to spread more rapidly, and the ongoing high infection rates in some countries. .

“We are seeing asymptomatic people crossing the border and later being picked up in the tests on the third day, so this will pick them up as soon as possible.

“It will also help us to identify anyone who has sat near them on flights earlier.”

Hipkins said that while increasing travel restrictions are being imposed on countries that host airport hubs and by airlines themselves, blocking routes to New Zealand for the overwhelming majority of travelers from higher risk countries, the government was taking this step. of extra caution to “provide another layer of protection and to support our goal of making summer unstoppable.”

He said the additional requirements would provide additional security for those who work at MIQ facilities and the public.

Hipkins also announced that there will be pre-departure tests for UK arrivals to New Zealand from mid-January.

“Keeping the virus out is still our greatest protection and as we have done all the time, we regularly review our settings and make changes that will make a difference,” he explained.

“Plans are currently being drawn up for pre-departure risk reduction measures, including trials for people leaving the UK for New Zealand, with a view to implementing them from mid-January.

These include selecting the most effective forms of evidence in the circumstances. Additional risk measures are also being considered for other countries.

“Returnees will still have to go through our 14-day managed isolation and quarantine process upon arrival in New Zealand.”

He acknowledged that the additional process “would present an additional obstacle for kiwis who plan to return.”

“We are not considering this lightly,” he said.

“We are going beyond what we have done in the past, to anticipate what appears to be a worsening situation globally and by doing so we would reduce the risk of Covid-19 spreading during transit and entering our isolation managed. facilities. “

Hipkins said an “eventual safe travel zone” with Australia and the kingdom’s countries would ultimately mean fewer people from lower-risk countries would stay in New Zealand’s managed isolation facilities.

That would allow more people to come from higher risk countries.

“Additional risk measures at sea, including pre-departure testing, would help us prepare for the increased risk that these arrivals will bring to our facilities and to incoming flights,” he said.

As of yesterday, 16 new cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in New Zealand since Christmas Eve.

Fifteen of the cases are on the border.

The other was a landmark case in the community seven months ago that has now been confirmed.

The total number of active cases in New Zealand is 50 after 15 cases were recovered.

Our total number of confirmed cases is 1788.