Travel rules helpful for health sector – experts say
TOUGH new rules around travel in and out of New Zealand because of coronavirus are a blessing for health sector, experts say.
Associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles, from the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland said the prime minister’s moves were ‘‘exactly what is needed to limit the spread of the virus in Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific in what are unprecedented times’’.
‘‘Now we should start preparing ourselves for how long these measures may be in place.’’
She said New Zealand mustn’t stop doing what needs to be done just to mitigate economic impact.
‘‘Until a vaccine is ready, and that could take one to two years, we are all susceptible to this virus. If we turn our back for a minute, we could find ourselves in the position of countries like Italy. Yes, this is going to hurt economically, but allowing the virus to take hold here would hurt us even more.’’
Professor Michael Baker, from the Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington, said the increase in measures ‘‘will be widely welcomed by those of us working in the health sector. It signals a real commitment to putting public health at the top of the Government’s priorities’’.
He said the restrictions would greatly strengthen the ‘‘keep it out’’ part of the country’s pandemic plan and showed support for the wider goal of containment. ‘‘This is the path being successfully followed by some countries overseas, such as Singapore and Taiwan, which have also managed to keep the numbers of Covid-19 cases at low levels.
‘‘The other component needed to support containment will be strengthening of the ‘stamp it out’ part of the plan. This includes ramping up health services to test and diagnose cases so they can be isolated, and a large increase in capacity for contact tracing and quarantine.
‘‘The specific measures to protect Pacific countries from this pandemic also appear very well considered."
Dr Joshua Freeman, acting clinical director of infection prevention and control at the Canterbury DHB said the new self-isolation rule for people coming into New Zealand was an appropriate and proportionate response. ‘‘Widespread community transmission in Europe, the UK and US substantially increases the risk of the virus being imported to New Zealand by asymptomatic travellers incubating the virus.
‘‘The No 1 priority for New Zealand’s strategic response to Covid-19 must be to prevent and slow the spread of the virus. One key way to do this is to make it harder for the virus to enter the country and spread silently in the community. ‘‘If we don’t keep on top of community transmission and ‘flatten the curve’, our healthcare systems will be comprehensively overwhelmed.’’