Covid 19 coronavirus: Jacinda Ardern – New Zealand’s borders are likely to remain closed to most of the world throughout the year

LAST VIRUS:

• Health officials remain on high alert after a 56-year-old woman contracted Covid-19 while in controlled isolation and later traveled through Northland.
• More than 1,500 people in Northland have been tested for Covid, leading to long lines and so far no signs of community transmission.
• Northerners denied testing for Covid after conflicting advice from Healthline
• Police say Northland iwi Covid checkpoints are not necessary
• Covid-19: three big questions we are asking now
• Cook Islands cancels flight to Rarotonga

New Zealand border personnel will be vaccinated against Covid-19 within three weeks of the arrival of the first shipment of immunization to our shores, says Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

But the country’s borders are likely to remain closed to most of the world for the rest of the year, as reopening them poses “too great a risk to our health and economy.”

Ardern said the first shipment of the Pfizer vaccine would be prioritized for those most at risk of coming into contact with the infection: our front-line border personnel and those who work in controlled isolation.

“Once we receive it, we hope to vaccinate our border workers within two to three weeks,” he said last night in an Instagram post.

At the same time, the Government would continue to look for travel bubbles with Australia and the Pacific, despite Australia suspending its one-way travel bubble with New Zealand after confirmation of the Northland community case.

This is something for which Ardern expressed his “disappointment” to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, saying that the situation in New Zealand was “well under control”.

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But even Ardern admits that things don’t look as good as they used to when it comes to a full travel bubble between the two countries.

“We are looking to get there,” he said in his post-Cabinet press conference on the bubble.

“[But] It seems increasingly difficult at the country-by-country level, we haven’t ruled out the possibility of state by state. “

Last close contact of an infected Northland woman awaiting test result

Meanwhile, Chief Health Officer Dr. Ashley Bloomfield said today that the outcome of the last close contact of the infected Northland woman was yet to come.

He said the reason was because it was taken yesterday.

Bloomfield told ZB’s Mike Hosking that he did not believe the MIQ facilities were “too flexible” in managing returnees, but that procedures to close the gaps that came to light were still being reviewed.

He said that any expert comment that highlighted failures in the facility’s operation was always taken seriously.

Bloomfield remained confident that the Pfizer vaccine would arrive in this country in the first quarter.

Medsafe was expected to give approval for the vaccine next Tuesday at the earliest.

“We were confident in getting the vaccine when we said we would get it,” he said.

The Pullman Hotel, where the Northland woman is believed to have been infected, was audited yesterday. Bloomfield said it was now considered “very unlikely” that she was infected through the facility’s air conditioning system.

Ardern said looking outside Australia and the Pacific, “we can expect our borders to be affected for much of this year.”

He said that for the journey to be fully restarted, two things are needed.

“Either we need the confidence that being vaccinated means that Covid-19 is not transmitted to other people, and we don’t yet know it, or we need a sufficient number of our population to be vaccinated and protected so that people can re-enter from safe way. New Zealand. “

Both possibilities, Ardern said, will take some time.

Meanwhile, data from the Ministry of Health yesterday revealed optimistic information about the Northland case and its limited dissemination.

After 1500 tests for Covid-19, there is no evidence of an additional positive case in the community.

The Health Ministry said 16 people had now been identified as possible close contacts of the infected woman. Of these, 15 people have returned negative evidence, including a family contact on the case.

An additional close contact was still awaiting test results, but the original case is still just a community case in the region.

Meanwhile, 154 people have been identified as “casual contacts,” people now awaiting testing in isolation.

Ardern also revealed yesterday that the first Covid-19 vaccine could receive the green light for use in New Zealand in just over a week.

But questions remain about the government’s vaccination schedule.

This is because, according to Ardern, “we will be in the hands of the delivery times of the pharmaceutical companies.”

But Ardern promises that the “New Zealand house will be in order” by the time the first shipment of vaccines arrives.

The first in line, as noted above, will be border and managed isolation and quarantine workers and their close contacts.

“These brave people have been protecting our country from this global pandemic for the past year and protecting them and those who share their homes is a priority for us,” said Covid-19 Minister Chris Hipkins.

But the specific timeline for when this group will receive the vaccine remains unclear: the government has only committed to implementation in the first quarter of the year.

It’s a similar story for the rest of the general public, who will receive a vaccine in the middle of this year, according to Hipkins.

But the reason for the lack of time details was due to drug companies and their lead times, Ardern said.

“We have spoken in very general terms about our expectation of when we will receive our vaccine because, at this stage for pharmaceutical companies, many things are changing for them.”

He said that these companies will analyze New Zealand’s position compared to other countries where people die daily and in large numbers.

“What I can give you absolute security in New Zealand will have your house in order,” Ardern said.

“We will be ready to receive it.”

Ardern said he expected the approval process for the vaccine, led by Medsafe, to be completed before doses begin arriving in New Zealand.

“This means that we hope there will be no delay and we will be able to receive our first batch of vaccines as soon as Pfizer can ship them.”

Pfizer is just one of the pharmaceutical companies from which New Zealand has bought vaccines.

In fact, Ardern said the government had bought a portfolio of vaccines to ensure it had a “diverse portfolio,” so it had options.

“If the evidence base becomes stronger on which vaccine is most effective for which population groups, we will have options,” Hipkins said.