Killing of gulls ‘gut-wrenching’

quarantine for 14 days at the Defence Force training base in Whangapara¯ oa.

‘‘With Kiwis as our number one concern – the health and safety of New Zealanders – we are exploring the quarantine at Whangapara¯oa as the leading option for bringing people back,’’ he said.

Yesterday, Clark said the Government was listening to science and public health experts, and making decisions based on the best evidence available.

Ardern said they hadn’t had the ability to bring passengers on board the cruise ship home ‘‘until now’’.

She said she also absolutely understood the frustrations that existed around quarantine.

Although cruise ship passengers had already been in quarantine, ‘‘unfortunately we have seen cases continue’’.

‘‘In fact, two New Zealanders were infected on the ship so we know that that transmission has been happening – it’s real. So, through no fault of anyone here, it hasn’t been a place where it’s been easy to undertake that quarantine,’’ she said.

‘‘People have got sick so we do need to give the assurance to the New Zealand public through that further quarantine.’’

Ardern said she didn’t want to cast judgment on the decision to quarantine on the ship, but said it was an incredibly difficult situation to manage and everyone involved had done the best they could.

The novel coronavirus had infected more than 70,000 people and killed more than 1700, most of them in central China. No cases had been reported yet in New Zealand.