Stuff Digital Edition

Moves to reduce time returnees spend in MIQ

Bridie Witton bridie.witton@stuff.co.nz

Plans to halve the time returnees spend in managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) won’t extend to quarantine-free travel from Australia, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern comparing it to striking matches in a wildfire.

International arrivals will only have to isolate for seven days in managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) from November 14, in a move expected to free up about 1500 rooms a month, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced yesterday.

The border will also be reopened for quarantine-free travel for more low-risk travellers from low-risk Pacific Island countries such as the Cook Islands. It will start November 8 for fully vaccinated travellers from these areas.

But people wanting to see Australian friends and family over Christmas have had their hopes dashed with no plans to wind back trans-Tasman restrictions. Most of the rooms have been earmarked to isolate community cases and their contacts.

‘‘What the experts have always said to us is the seeding of cases at the border does affect what happens domestically,’’ Ardern said.

‘‘When you have got an outbreak you’re trying to manage something, it doesn’t necessarily mean you can cumulatively add risk and it not have an impact ... even if you have a wildfire it doesn’t mean it’s OK to go around striking matches.’’

Non-New Zealand travellers will have to be fully vaccinated but unvaccinated children and Kiwi adults are also eligible. They will be tested on day zero, day three, day six and have a rapid antigen test upon exit. They will then isolate at home for about three days until they return a negative test on day nine at home,

in a move Hipkins said would ‘‘rebalance’’ MIQ and free up space for high-risk community cases.

‘‘Over the last 18 months our ministry isolation and quarantine facilities have been our first line of defence against Covid-19. Stopping Covid-19 at the border has been one of our highest priorities,’’ he said.

Many of the 1500 rooms per month will be allocated to people isolating after coming into contact with the ongoing Delta outbreak, Hipkins said.

The move also frees up space from existing bookings and officials would be looking to release some of those rooms back into the lobby system. However, the number of extra rooms would be ‘‘small’’.

The National Party’s Covid-19 spokesperson, Chris Bishop, said the Government should go further and move to allow fullyvaccinated travellers from lowrisk countries to avoid isolating at all if they test negative for the virus before and after they land.

‘‘National would introduce this once New Zealand is at 85 per cent fully vaccinated, which is only weeks away. This would mean thousands of travellers from places such as Queensland could be home for Christmas,’’ he said.

Yesterday’s announcement could have come sooner, Bishop said. The Government had been recording whether arrivals were vaccinated or not only from late August.

‘‘Even if you have a wildfire it doesn’t mean it’s OK to go around striking matches.’’ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern

National News

en-nz

2021-10-29T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-10-29T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/281621013549603

Stuff Limited