Indian travel ban will save lives

From today, all across New Zealand and Australia many families are anticipating reunions on the opening of the quarantine-free travel bubble.

Some will be sad, some will be joyous and for some, it will be simply a relief.

For those who suffered through births and deaths by not being able to be with their loved ones during the closed borders, it will be too late.

Zoom funerals or welcoming a new grandchild to the world through Facetime does not compare with the physical experience of touching your loved ones.

And with the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccination programme, hopefully, the risk of travelling and picking up the virus will lessen over time.

Meanwhile, Kiwis who have family in India are in the opposite situation.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced earlier this month that travellers who have been in India in the past two weeks can’t enter the country.

This is a temporary ban — lasting from April 11 to April 28.

The ban comes after a spike in border cases on flights from India. On April 9, almost two-thirds of cases in managed isolation during the previous 30 days were from India. India is currently experiencing a dramatic surge in Covid-19 cases, recently recording 152,000 cases on one day, adding to a total of more than 13 million.

This is a quandary for the Government. New Zealand has agreed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter their own country.

This will be the first time New Zealand has stopped citizens or residents from returning.

Coming home is already proving difficult with many Kiwis in other parts of the world saying they are experiencing difficulties in booking flights and securing a spot in managed isolation.

Chief human rights commissioner Paul Hunt says temporarily banning New Zealanders from returning home from India is a “significant limitation on their freedom of movement”.

In my view, he’s right, but these are extraordinary times.

The concern is that the high rate of infectious cases coming into the country could inadvertently cause a community outbreak.

We’ve seen it happen. And we’ve got to remember that the restriction is temporary.

While I feel for families who remain separated, this will ultimately save lives. We’ve all had to make huge sacrifices over the past year, something tells me this will not be the last.