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American personnel who arrived in New Zealand from Antarctica on Monday night are exempt from controlled isolation.
All of the returnees had been isolated in the “Antarctic bubble at Scott Base / McMurdo Station” since early May, according to a joint statement provided by various agencies, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Ministry of Health.
Antarctica was Covid-19 free, and Public Health Director Dr. Caroline McElnay said that U.S. personnel, most of whom return to the United States, pose negligible risk to the public health of Covid-19 for New Zealand.
Mark Baker / AP
A United States Air Force C-17 takes off from Christchurch Airport on the first flight of the season to McMurdo Station in Antarctica.
Twenty-six winters at McMurdo Station flew to New Zealand on Monday night.
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They were booked to continue their trip to the United States on the first available flight. A person with residence in New Zealand would remain in this country.
Mark Baker / AP
The ground crew loads the cargo onto a US Air Force C-17.
Earlier Monday, the US Air Force C-17 had carried 106 new personnel and crew from Christchurch to Antarctica, the first flight to the continent since winter.
Additional precautions were being taken to keep Covid-19 off bases, said Tony German, representative of the US Antarctic program in New Zealand.
The newcomers would begin to prepare for the summer and exchange with skeleton crews that wintered in Antarctica, he said.
The three-week delay in Monday’s flight due to storms in Antarctica resulted in an extended six-week quarantine for those on board.
German said the teams were first isolated in San Francisco for four days, and then spent another five weeks in isolation in New Zealand, undergoing various virus tests along the way.
Upon arrival at the US show’s McMurdo station, the facility entered code yellow, which means that everyone will wear masks for two weeks.
“We are being meticulous to make sure nothing happens,” German said.
Mark Baker / AP
The first American flight to Antarctica after months of winter darkness left New Zealand on Monday.
German said that if Covid-19 was to break out at McMurdo Station, testing and isolation protocols were in place.
Still, flight delays in recent weeks underscore how difficult it can be to quickly evacuate people from Antarctica suffering from serious medical problems.
German said it took winter crews at McMurdo, the main US station in Antarctica, more than a week to emerge from the storms and clear the runway for the flight to continue.
The Boeing C-17 Globemaster that landed Monday afternoon was the first American flight to reach the continent since early May.
Officials say unusual teamwork was carried out this year between the United States, China, Russia and other countries to ensure they kept the virus out.
They are all planning reduced numbers at their stations. The number of people in McMurdo is projected to peak at 450 this summer, about a third of normal.
Some research and planned construction will be delayed. German said the main goals are to keep the facility running and prepare for winter next year, while trying to do some science along the way.
“The show must go on,” he said.
Mark Baker / AP
The number of people in McMurdo is expected to peak at 450 this summer, about a third of normal.
New Zealand’s approach to managing the arrival of returnees from Antarctica in the future would actively consider any health risks present at the time, according to the agency’s joint statement.
Waivers or temporary releases from managed isolation were approved in very limited circumstances on a case-by-case basis, and the threshold for approval was very high, he said.
An exemption would only be approved when it was confident that the risk to public health was assessed as very low and could be safely managed.
People going to Antarctica were only allowed to enter New Zealand from other countries after exceptions to current border restrictions were provided.
Requests for these exceptions were based on the essential nature of the work and agreements between governments on cooperation in Antarctica.
Antarctic programs have been significantly reduced for the 2020/21 season, and the only activities are maintaining essential operations and supply, and critical support of key infrastructure and long-term scientific research.
Between last month and next March, around 800 Antarctic program participants were expected to enter this country to support programs and / or deploy in Antarctica, according to the statement.
Most were on the US show, while others supported the New Zealand, Italy, and Korean shows.
