Checks not followed in new cases

Essential health checks were missed on New Zealand’s two new cases of coronavirus as about 1800 overseas arrivals a week tax authorities.

Last night Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that rigorous protocols in place for compassionate exemptions ‘‘have not been followed in this case’’.

The Government was taking the new cases “incredibly seriously” and Ardern said officials would be reviewing exactly what happened, as it “cannot be repeated”. “The checks and balances in this case were not adequate, no question.”

The pair flew into Auckland with Air New Zealand on June 7 from London, via Doha and Brisbane. They were in managed isolation in an Auckland hotel for six days before being allowed to drive to Wellington after a family death.

Director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said usually people were tested before leaving a facility but in this case, because of the specific circumstances and officials confidence about a clear plan being in place, they were not.

After their diagnoses were revealed yesterday, the Government halted compassionate exemptions, saying all overseas arrivals must stay in supervised quarantine for 14 days. Everyone quarantined must be tested for the virus on days three and 12.

Otago University public health Professor Michael Baker said the new cases, which break a casefree streak of 24 days, were a warning about how cautious New Zealand must be. He said the country could not afford significant risks.

‘‘In most parts of the world it would be absolutely mandatory that you be wearing face masks on the flight, going through the border and arrivals area, in the quarantine facility, and certainly if you were allowed to leave before your quarantine was up,’’ said Baker.

Researcher Dr Amanda Kvalsvig, from the university’s public health department, said the new cases ‘‘illustrate very vividly how quickly rules and guidelines can unravel when they collide with real life’’.

‘‘We’re now in a situation where potentially hundreds of people have travelled for several hours in an enclosed space with someone who was infectious,’’ she said.

While international passenger numbers are a fraction of pre

Covid numbers, about 30 flights a week are landing in New Zealand, almost all at Auckland Airport.

The past week has seen 1871 people fly into the country, of whom 1100 were New Zealanders and 741 other nationalities.

Arrivals have averaged about 250 a day since New Zealand moved into Alert Level 2 in mid-May, with the busiest day being Saturday June 6 when just over 700 landed. Around 25,000 have arrived since the country went into level 4 lockdown in late March.

Four airlines – Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines – are the only ones running regular scheduled flights. Some charter repatriation flights are also running.

Most of the flights into Auckland are operated by Air New Zealand, which has weekly arrivals from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Niue, Tonga, Tahiti, Fiji, Samoa, and Rarotonga.

The two Chinese airlines have one weekly flight each, from Shanghai and Guangzhou, and Singapore Airlines has two from Singapore. Air New Zealand announced yesterday that it will restart flights between Auckland and Shanghai next week.

Air Tahiti will land one repatriation flight in Auckland on Thursday, while a Philippine Airlines flight from Nadi in Fiji has been rescheduled from its Auckland destination and will land in Christchurch.

A Christchurch Airport spokeswoman said only cargo flights were on the airport’s international arrival schedule, and any passenger arrivals must be Government approved and managed by the Ministry of Health.

A small number of people is also likely to be arriving by sea.

The Health Ministry said airport controls at the borders include health screening and testing for all arrivals, and custom officers are physically checking all passports rather than using e-gates.

While all New Zealand citizens and residents are allowed to return to the country, non-Kiwis must qualify for an exemption to the arrival ban. Recent exemptions have included two America’s Cup crews and two film crews.

‘‘The checks and balances in this case were not adequate, no question.’’

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern