Mask-wearing on some flights compulsory

Anyone flying between Australia and New Zealand must now wear a face mask to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said yesterday there was ‘‘still a pandemic raging’’ outside New Zealand, and extra precautions are needed.

The new rules for passengers come after three new cases of Covid-19 surfaced this week, all from overseas, breaking a 24-day streak of zero cases.

‘‘Incoming travellers posed the greatest threat to our elimination goal,’’ pathology doctor from Dunedin Dr Ling Chan said.

‘‘Masking [or] face coverings should be for all travellers.’’

An airplane cabin space was ‘‘a perfect way to spread the virus,’’ Chan said.

Nearly all ‘‘super clusters’’ came from an enclosed, indoor environment, where many people come into contact with each other over prolonged periods of time, she said.

Figures show since lockdown started, 64,000 people have come into New Zealand, and the Government has said it expects more people arriving at New Zealand’s border to test positive.

Mandatory mask use on all flights would be more effective than simply handwashing and covering sneezes, Chan said. ‘‘Covid-19 is highly infectious and spread mainly by speech droplets.’’

The World Health Organisation recently changed its stance, recommending widespread mask use for the public, accepting this simple tool as an effective measure to reduce transmission.

Countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea and the Czech Republic had all successful implemented mandatory mask use in public spaces.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation recommends passengers and aviation workers wear face masks in order to reduce the spread of Covid-19.

The New Zealand Airline Pilots Association has already asked for this change, and last month said it wanted face masks to be compulsory for air passengers to reduce the need for people to be separated on planes.

Chan said mandatory mask use would remove confusion and stigmatism of their use. ‘‘[It’s] a new norm that will take some getting used to.’’

Bloomfield said yesterday there are also more rules for Air New Zealand cabin crew returning from overseas.

Crew must self-isolate and provide a negative test before they return to New Zealand communities.

The Ministry of Health advises that medical-grade masks should be offered to passengers on international flights, a spokeswoman said.