We won’t be rushed on border — Govt
The Government will remain “cautious” when it comes to the border and has no plans to change the 14-day quarantine, Health Minister Chris Hipkins says.
Responding to a call by three influential New Zealanders for a a pragmatic strategy to reopen the country’s borders, Hipkins said people did not want cases of Covid-19 flooding in.
Sir Peter Gluckman, the former chief science adviser, former Prime Minister Helen Clark and ex-Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe have co-authored a paper about how New Zealand could begin to open up.
Gluckman told Morning Report that some time soon the Government had to have a strategy to gradually open the border.
Hipkins said Kiwis wanted to lock in the gain the country had made.
“Those countries that have eased off and said ‘let’s figure out how we can live with this’ have ended up experiencing further outbreaks and in some cases have had to move back to more of a lockdown phase. That’s something we want to avoid . . . so we are going to be cautious around what we do at the border.”
New Zealand had more ability to get people back to work than many other countries because there were no lockdown restrictions.
The Government had no plans to change the 14-day quarantine, and would look to expand managed isolation and quarantine capacity.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also ruled out quarantine changes.
“Of course we all want our borders
open, but only when it is safe to do so. Right now is not the right time,” Ardern said.
Meanwhile the resignation of David Clark as health minister has been reported around the world. AP said Clark had been “widely ridiculed” after his failings became public.
“David Clark had earlier described himself as an ‘idiot’ for breaking the nation’s lockdown measures and then last week appeared to blame a beloved health official for border lapses, generating an angry response from the public.”
The New York Times described Clark as “a blemish on what health experts say has otherwise been one of the world’s most successful responses to the outbreak”. But Times’ readers wondered if Clark could help the United States fight Covid-19.
“So you’re saying he’s available? Asking for America,” wrote one man, while another noted that at least Clark had “honour” for stepping down.
“Wouldn’t it be great if Terrible Trump followed his example and did the same thing. OK, back to our nightmarish reality,” wrote another.
“Can he come here n help us out?? We’re the worldwide leader in missed steps,” a desperate American noted.
Ardern said on Thursday that she hadn’t closed the door on Clark being given any other portfolios after the election, but it wouldn’t be health.
“I will leave that door open.”