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All travelers heading to New Zealand from the UK or US will need a negative test result for Covid-19, the government has confirmed.
The new rules will go into effect on January 15.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said that work was already underway to extend the requirement to other long-haul flights to New Zealand.
Gareth Fuller / AP
Travelers from the UK and the US will only be able to enter New Zealand after the virus test is negative. (File photo)
“The new testing requirement will require travelers from the UK or US to have a written form, certified by a laboratory or other form of approved evidence, showing a negative result within 72 hours prior to departure,” said Hipkins. .
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“A very limited number of people may be exempt, even if they have a medical certificate verifying that they have been examined within the 72 hours prior to their departure, but cannot take a test for medical reasons and do not have symptoms of Covid.
“Enforcement will be handled through an amendment to the New Zealand Air Borders Order to make arriving in New Zealand through the air border without evidence of a passed negative test is a violation.”
The new rules would provide additional security for New Zealanders at a time when virus infections appear to be accelerating abroad, Hipkins said.
Managed isolation and quarantine would remain the most important part of border security, Hipkins said, but this new step was an added precaution.
“The pre-departure test is an additional requirement to the zero-day / day-one tests and stay in your room in the MIQ requirement for arrivals from higher risk countries that went into effect last Friday.”
Travelers from the UK and the US would still have to go through New Zealand’s 14-day quarantine regime.
“We intend the test to also have the added benefit of encouraging extremely cautious behavior before people fly and during flights and stopovers that will minimize exposure to the virus.”
Many countries have introduced stricter restrictions on UK travelers after an increase in people in the UK testing positive for a variant of the Sars-CoV-2 virus that is believed to spread more easily than other strains.
