On June 16, New Zealand authorities counted two cases of Covid-19, after 25 days without a new infection. They are said to be two people who have recently arrived from the United Kingdom.
The fight against Covid-19 is once again topical in New Zealand. After 25 days without new infection with the virus, the country counted two cases on Tuesday June 16. According to the Ministry of Health, the two people, recently arrived from the United Kingdom, are “linked”. As a reminder, if the borders of New Zealand have been closed to foreign travelers since March 19, entry into the territory is authorized for citizens and permanent residents.
Other exceptions: “essential workers”, such as health professionals and employees in certain sectors, provided that the latter submit a request to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. According to the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairsthese people are all compelled “to a period of isolation of 14 days at the expense of the New Zealand authorities, in a dedicated center located near Auckland airport”. For its part, the New Zealand Immigration Ministry only mentions a fortnight for citizens of the Tokelau, Cook and Niue Islands.
“It’s very different from having it in the population”
After seven weeks of strict confinement, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the lifting of all restrictions on June 8. Nevertheless, after three and a half weeks of respite, the government expected that new people would be affected by Covid-19. Indeed, as reported by AFP, which echoes The HuffPostJacinda Ardern explained on June 15 that she had not declared the country free of the virus because it “there will be new cases in the future”.
“Of course our hope and expectation is that it’s at the border… If they’ve been quarantined, that’s very different than having them in the population”, she told our colleagues. Since the beginning of the health crisis, New Zealand has identified 1,506 cases of new coronavirus and deplored 22 deaths, according to the American Johns-Hopkins University. Thus, the country of nearly 5 million inhabitants is one of the territories least affected by the epidemic.
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