NZ implements additional actions against Covid-19 spread
By IANS |
Published on
Tue, Jan 12 2021 14:06 IST |
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Wellington, Aug. 17, 2020 (Xinhua) A man takes a walk in Auckland, New Zealand, Aug. 15, 2020. (Photo by Li Qiaoqiao/Xinhua/IANS). Image Source: IANS News
Wellington, Jan 12 : The New Zealand government is going to implement as series of additional actions in an effort to curb the further spreading of Covid-19, including the new emerging variants of the virus, a Minister said on Tuesday.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced that passengers from countries, excluding Australia, Antarctica and some Pacific Island nations, will be required to undergo Day 0/1 testing upon arrival in New Zealand, reports Xinhua news agency.
A Government spokesman on Monday said Covid-19 had grown exponentially around the world and there was a new, more transmissible, strain since the Government last dismissed the offshore tests. The managed isolation and quarantine system remained New Zealand’s main protection, and pre-departure testing was “just another layer we are adding, as travel to NZ often involves several transit stops”. The new tests were legally justifiable because of the risk of Covid-19 to the wider New Zealand community.
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Green Party MP Golriz Ghahraman said the pre-border testing was misguided and counter-productive. A change would be made to the Covid-19 Public Health Response (Air Border) Order to bring the new test into law.
The pre-departure test is an additional requirement to the new rule that came into force last Friday, requiring all arrivals from the UK or the US to undergo an additional test, either at the airport or on their first day of isolation. It reduces the risk of infected passengers on international long haul flights infecting other passengers with COVID-19, Hipkins said. We know this will add to the stress of travellers wanting to get to New Zealand and have made this decision carefully. It will provide further assurance for New Zealanders at a time when infections from the virus appears to be accelerating overseas.