Safe zone travel ‘could open up’

WELLINGTON: Safe travel zones could be opened up between New Zealand and countries or areas with no community transmission, Health Minister Chris Hipkins says.

Talks were continuing to establish safe zones, which would allow quarantinefree travel, he said.

‘‘It is possible as we get through this, as we get to an extended period with no more community transmission, that those safe zones could open up.’’

Asked yesterday if Australian states would have to be able to show 28 days without community transmission, Mr Hipkins said it was among the criteria.

However, the reopening of borders within Australia was a sticking point, ‘‘slowing down our eagerness’’.

‘‘There are some states that we could have travel with relatively quickly but if there is a risk that they will then reopen their borders between states then obviously that increases the risk of there being transmission between states in Australia, which therefore makes us a bit more hesitant.

‘‘We are being very cautious around that.’’

If safe zones were operating, Auckland International Airport would effectively be split in two, to separate travellers on safe zone flights from travellers from other countries and transit passengers unable to use the safe zone flights.

A technical advisory group was still looking into the possibility of a third Covid19 test for travellers arriving in New Zealand, Mr Hipkins said.

This could be done a week after their release from managed isolation to pick up the minority of people who cultivated the virus for more than 14 days.

Despite the entire country now being at Alert Level 1, he was still urging people to continue to use the Covid19 app, which made contact tracing much faster.

‘‘If we remain vigilant we can keep our freedom for longer.’’

This time round he was confident there was stronger testing of people arriving in the country as well as better monitoring and testing of staff working at the border.

‘‘One of the things that makes me a little nervous is we’re heading into summer, so we’ll see fewer people with flulike symptoms and of course that means fewer people getting tested.

‘‘Those testing rates are our line of insurance, if you like.’’

At the moment testing rates were around 40005000 daily but an average of 30004000 a day would be acceptable, he said.

Regular testing of those working at border as well as those arriving would continue, some people would still get sick over summer and GPs were being encouraged to test people who were showing symptoms.

Covid19 modeller Prof Shaun Hendy is warning the risk of a new surge of the coronavirus remains.

Auckland has now joined the rest of the country at Alert Level 1 and there are 39 cases in managed isolation, all of which came from overseas.

Prof Hendy said keeping up testing would be key to avoiding future outbreaks.

‘‘Every time we see a new way through we close that loophole but we have to acknowledge that the risks aren’t zero and there’s still the possibility of it making its way through those facilities.’’

However, the country was in ‘‘an amazing position’’, having eliminated community transmission again, especially when compared with many other parts of the world.

The outbreak that led to Auckland’s shutdown had been harder to model than those in March and April.

But he was pleased Aucklanders responded so well to a request for testing: ‘‘That helped us close this cluster off quickly.’’

Contact tracing had also functioned effectively.

Prof Hendy urged people to keep using the app and get tested if they had any symptoms.

There were two new cases of Covid19 in managed isolation and one historical case reported yesterday. — RNZ

AUCKLAND: A private security company parked vehicles across a home’s driveway to stop a family connected with a controversial Auckland church from leaving their house after a person flouted selfisolation during the recent Covid19 outbreak.

At least one property in New Windsor was under permanent guard for around a fortnight, with a special security detail assigned to the suburban home 24 hours a day.

Noone living there was able to leave or enter, after locals say a resident repeatedly breached public health orders to stay home and selfisolate for 14 days.

Those living in the house were identified as close contacts of Covidinfected people in the Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship congregation that initially refused to acknowledge the severity of the outbreak. It had a large prayer meeting disbanded by police during the Aucklandwide lockdown.

Neighbours claimed a family living at the New Windsor house linked to the church not only attended prayer meetings when it was illegal to do so but also met up with others in the west Auckland bereavement cluster.

The last remaining infected person from that subcluster was declared recovered at Wednesday’s Ministry of Health Covid update.

The family was required by public health to undertake a fortnight of selfisolation.

It was understood the adults did not test positive but a child showed signs of Covid19.

People living in the same street as the guarded suburban address said security personnel parked either across or up the driveway to block cars.

Guards on duty said they were there to keep watch on a house linked with the Covid outbreak.

A Ministry of Health spokesman said while the ministry was unable to comment on individual cases, people who tested positive for Covid19 in the community were generally asked to move into quarantine facilities, except in exceptional circumstances.

In a small number of cases exemptions had been granted.

In these instances the Auckland Regional Public Health Service’s medical officer of health specified a plan, with strict criteria, for the person or family staying at home.

It included support arrangements and 24/7 security.

‘‘The latter is to ensure unauthorised visitors do not enter the home, to provide a level of protection for the family and to ensure exemption criteria are adhered to,’’ the spokesperson said.

The Mt Roskill church became the epicentre of a mini Covid cluster during the outbreak that put the Auckland region on a monthlong lockdown. It was later found church members had held prayer meetings during the Alert Level 3 lockdown when gatherings were banned.

Health authorities were further hampered after churchgoers refused to disclose cases of illness and continued to meet together when they were meant to be in selfisolation.

At least 48 Covid cases — more than a quarter of all Auckland cases — have been linked to the congregation.

The evangelical church came under fire from Health Minister Chris Hipkins, who said some people linked to the congregation were sceptical about the seriousness of the pandemic.

In September, Mr Hipkins said ‘‘repeated, deliberate and malicious spread of misinformation’’ was threatening to block the region’s move to Alert Level 1.

The Auckland August cluster became the biggest in New Zealand since Covid19 arrived in February, with 179 people falling ill.

It has taken just under two months to eliminate Covid19 from the community since Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced four cases of infection in a family from an unknown source on August 11.

Health authorities still do not know how the first person, an Americold worker in his 50s, got the disease but suspect it was from contact with an infected person from overseas.

Three people died, including South Auckland physician Dr Joe Williams and two brothers from the same family. — The New Zealand Herald