Gluckman wants border quarantine

A tightening of New Zealand’s border is needed to ‘‘turn the tap off’’ on coronavirus, the prime minister’s former science adviser says.

Sir Peter Gluckman, a leading scientist, said there needed to be mandatory quarantine of everyone coming through the border to gain the maximum benefit from the four-week lockdown.

Gluckman told Stuff it was scientifically simple to keep the virus out of New Zealand — eliminate at the border.

‘‘You know where the tap is, letting it drip in. Turn the tap off. It is as simple as that, there is no more science to it than that.’’

He said most new cases were coming from offshore and not community spread, so it was logical to suppress new incursions.

Gluckman’s message comes amid mounting pressure for the Government to take further action on border controls.

A National Party petition for mandatory quarantining for everyone arriving at the border has received more than 40,000 signatures in a day. Opposition leader Simon Bridges said the message from New Zealanders to the Government was clear.

‘‘We must quarantine all people arriving in New Zealand for at least 14 days and test them for Covid-19.

‘‘The number of diagnosed cases is decreasing. If we want to eliminate Covid-19 ... we must have supervised quarantine.’’

This week Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned Kiwis overseas that the country was moving closer to mandatory quarantine at the border.

Yesterday she confirmed it would be based on the model used at Whangaparā oa military base, where returning Kiwis could not leave for two weeks.

The Government was considering advice this week and would make announcements off the back of that, she said.

‘‘I indicated on Monday that we were working on stepping up our border controls once again, with no distinction. Everyone who is coming through has been screened for symptoms and an isolation plan,’’ Ardern said.

Gluckman said it appeared the Government believed it was only a matter of time until such stringent border measures were in place.

‘‘There has been enough advice and messaging and the logistics of it have become more simple now that there are less people crossing the border.

‘‘I can understand the difficulties two or three weeks ago when it was logistically complicated, given the number of New Zealanders trying to get home. But that issue is no longer there.’’

Yet he did not believe the Government should be criticised, given they were balancing ‘‘the most difficult, challenging issues of the day’’.

‘‘You know where the tap is, letting it drip in. Turn the tap off.’’ Sir Peter Gluckman