Minister: NZ can’t make border any tighter
Nervous wait for vaccines as virus mutates and thousands of returnees arrive every week, writes Tracy Watkins.
WITH a mass vaccination programme still weeks away, the Government is resisting calls to further restrict the number of people returning to New Zealand amid mounting concern over virulent new strains of Covid.
Experts have warned that the more virulent strains increase the likelihood of a new community outbreak and say New Zealand should further tighten the borders.
However, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins told Sunday News that entry to New Zealand was already ‘‘bare bones’’ and the Government was not about to slam the door on returning Kiwis. New Zealand had international commitments in that respect, which ‘‘would be a very big thing for us to back out of’’.
There would also be significant implications for New Zealanders overseas.
As it was, it was already hard to get into the country.
‘‘We’re strictly rationing the number of people who can arrive here through the voucher system. People are waiting several months to get here. If we were to restrict things further, you start to really affect your freight supply, your supply lines and your freight lines.’’
Since March last year, roughly 100,000 people have arrived in the country and gone through New Zealand’s managed isolation and quarantine facilities.
There are currently 5221 people in managed isolation and a further 160 in quarantine, including 76 active Covid cases.
Over the next 14 days, a further 5608 people are scheduled to arrive, and that number is expected to remain constant until at least midMarch, with places in managed isolation facilities extremely limited until then.
The Government has also rejected shifting arrivals to remote areas like Waiouru, saying the infrastructure would not support it.
However, Hipkins confirmed it was looking at further tightening up infection control measures for border and managed isolation staff.
Hipkins said the Government was ‘‘actively exploring’’ an earlier delivery of vaccines for border workers and managed isolation and quarantine staff, who are most at risk of catching and transmitting the new Covid strains.
The regulatory approval system for two of the four vaccines scheduled to be distributed in New Zealand is already under way.
The Government hopes to have New Zealanders vaccinated by the end of the year, and a mass-vaccination programme is
‘If we were to restrict things further, you start to really affect your freight supply.’ CHRIS HIPKINS, MINISTER FOR COVID-19 RESPONSE
scheduled to get under way midyear.
The first vaccinations could be available to critical workers as early as March but the Government is under pressure to move even faster.
Hipkins said if the Government could secure an earlier vaccine distribution it would prioritise border workers, managed isolation and quarantine workers, and frontline health workers where they’re working in Covid-related roles, such as testing.
There were about 10,000 people in that group and the vaccinations would take just a couple of weeks.
It has been two months since New Zealand’s last case of community transmission. But with thousands of New Zealanders returning home each week, and managed isolation and quarantine facilities at capacity, the risks of a border breach have increased with the emergence of the more virulent strain.
Brisbane was earlier this month forced into a three-day lockdown after its first case of community transmission in 113 days.
Early vaccination of border workers and managed isolation staff could help shore up New Zealand’s defences against a fresh outbreak, although it is still unknown whether vaccines prevent people from spreading the virus even though they don’t get sick themselves.
But Hipkins said the Government was ‘‘beholden to the international supply chain’’ when it came to timing, amid huge competition around the world for vaccines.
Australia has announced it would start rolling out its vaccine programme from midFebruary, but Hipkins said it was subject to the same supplychain issues as New Zealand.
Despite plunging use of the Covid tracer app, DirectorGeneral of Health Ashley Bloomfield told Sunday News he was confident attitudes would change if there was a fresh outbreak.
New Zealanders had shown they could respond quickly to a change in circumstances, such as a community outbreak.
He would not be drawn on what advice he had given the Government should there be a new community outbreak of the new strains.
However, he pointed to the success of Brisbane’s short, sharp lockdown as an example of how to stay on top of the new strains.
‘‘Go hard and don’t take your foot off the accelerator.’’
Even once the country is vaccinated, it’s unlikely the borders will be thrown open immediately.
Hipkins said a phased approach was more likely, and proof of vaccination might be a condition before boarding aircraft.
Several airlines around the world have already said it will become a requirement, including Qantas. Air New Zealand chief medical officer Dr Ben Johnston said the airline was encouraged by the news around vaccines and thinks the wide uptake of vaccines will make travel safer. But it was up to the Government to determine entry requirements.
Hipkins told Sunday News a requirement for vaccination was something it was looking at.
‘‘Certainly it’s a possibility for non-New Zealanders,’’ Hipkins said.
But returning Kiwis would be a different story.
‘‘For returning citizens and residents I think we would find ourselves falling foul of the Bill of Rights.’’