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New Zealand has further tightened border controls amid growing anxiety over the new strain of coronavirus causing infections abroad.
Six cases of the new variant of the virus, five in arrivals from the UK and one from South Africa, were recorded in isolation facilities run in the two weeks leading up to Christmas.
Travelers to New Zealand from the US and UK will now need to show a negative test for Covid-19 prior to departure, as well as take a test upon arrival in quarantine, in addition to days 3 and 12. The border remains mostly closed to non-citizens.
The Health Ministry said in a statement Sunday that it was about “additional precautionary measures [to] provide another layer of protection ”against the new strain of coronavirus, registered in more than 30 countries.
Although there has been no community transmission of the coronavirus in New Zealand since November 18, the University of Auckland microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles said that the new variant, which is reported to be more infectious, would challenge the country’s safeguards. “If there are any cracks in the chain, you will find them,” he told Stuff.
For New Zealanders in the UK and US wishing to return home, the new requirement to get proof is an added barrier on top of flight cancellations and the long wait for a quarantined vacancy.
The vast majority of the 5,800 spots in the 32 managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) facilities in New Zealand were taken over Christmas and New Years in the kiwis’ rush to return. Stuff reports that the first available vacancy was in mid-March.
Although places are available at the last minute, the arrival date at MIQ must be compared to a confirmed flight reservation, although according to Stuff, the government is ready to relax this a bit due to ongoing disruptions.
Wiles had previously warned the government not to require a negative test result before departure, saying that it would not necessarily work to protect New Zealand and that it could impose an unfair barrier to entry, as testing for Covid-19 is difficult already. often expensive to access in the US and UK.
As well as the “issue of who can pay for the test,” Wiles told Radio New Zealand’s Morning Report last week, “… there’s no guarantee that when you test negative, you won’t test positive on the road. “. to the airport or on the plane. “
The opposition National Party has been pushing for the measure since August, and spokesman Chris Bishop told Morning Report that the next step would be to make a negative result a requirement for all arrivals, not just those from the US.
“We just have to keep Covid out of New Zealand, the prospect of more shutdowns and more community broadcasts in New Zealand is not something I think anyone listening would want and we just have to take a hard line.”
Within New Zealand, public health officials are urging against complacency with a campaign for Kiwis to stay up-to-date on safe Covid behaviors. Large youth gatherings have been identified as a particular risk.
The government’s campaign to “make summer unstoppable” has targeted partygoers who show up coughing to “sit up” and installed “squads of sani” to distribute hand sanitizer at music festivals.
The Rhythm and Vines festival on New Year’s Eve was interrupted by a public service announcement from Dr. Ashley Bloomfield, the CEO of Health, to a dubstep beat.
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