Evacuation to Christmas Island quarantine planned
New Zealand will partner with Australia to get citizens out of the coronavirus-infected Chinese city of Wuhan, and they could be quarantined on Christmas Island.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Mfat) has confirmed that New Zealand consular officials will join an Australian consular team in Wuhan today to work through the details of any assisted departure.
The ministry continued to work through options to assist New Zealand citizens to leave Wuhan, including an Australian or New Zealand-arranged chartered flight, with both commercial and military options being explored, an Mfat spokeswoman said.
It follows an announcement about the partnership by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison yesterday. He said he had spoken with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Tuesday night and again yesterday morning, so the operation was very much a cooperation.
When asked if the quarantine would be on the Christmas Island immigration detention centre, in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Morrison said yes. He expected it would be for the recommended 14 days. However, he did not elaborate to say if this would include Kiwis. Quarantine would be subject to medical advice, which would ‘‘obviously be a condition’’ for those who were seeking to take part in the arrangement.
There was no guarantee the operation would succeed, and there were many complications and many issues that had to be overcome, he said. ‘‘I also want to stress very clearly that we may not be in a position if we’re able to do this on one occasion to do it on another occasion.’’
It is understood the overall plan is still being worked though, and the New Zealand Government is seeking advice from the Ministry of Health about quarantine.
When asked if Kiwis would be quarantined on Christmas Island, a spokesman for Ardern said medical precautions had not been confirmed. ‘‘I spoke with Prime Minister Morrison again this afternoon and we have confirmed that we will work together on a joint Anzac assisted departure of Australians and New Zealanders from Wuhan,’’ Ardern said. ‘‘Specific details of the evacuation plan, including the medical protocols that will be applied to returning New Zealanders, and access arrangements on the ground in China are being worked through by officials.’’
Christmas Island is an Australian territory with about 2000 residents and home to a controversial detention centre. It was the site of the Tampa controversy in 2001, involving 438 asylumseekers. It was recently closed but reopened in 2019.
Morrison said Australia would be working closely with New Zealand and others in the Pacific region to provide support for evacuations. Morrison indicted the priority would be for people who did not have support structures in Wuhan or live there – particularly the vulnerable and those with young children.
China travel advisory
New Zealanders are being advised not to travel to China following the coronavirus outbreak. Mfat updated its China travel advisory yesterday to ‘‘avoid nonessential travel elsewhere in China due to the recent outbreak of a novel coronavirus and associated travel restrictions.’’ It also advises ‘‘do not travel to Hubei Province’’.
Kiwis in Wuhan
Ardern confirmed on Tuesday there were 53 New Zealanders registered as being in Wuhan and about 20 of them had sought assistance. Officials were not aware of any Kiwis showing the flu-like symptom. Ardern said extracting Kiwis from Wuhan will be ‘‘very difficult’’. Evacuating Kiwis was not a simple, straightforward exercise with the militarily enforced lockdowns but the Government was having ongoing conversations, she said.
But pressure is mounting and the New Zealand Government is being urged to act faster. Yesterday, National’s health spokesman, Michael Woodhouse, said the Government was acting far too slowly on bringing stranded New Zealanders home. ‘‘It is understood the USA is close to a successful evacuation and other major nations are not far behind.’’ The New Zealanders stuck in Wuhan were desperate, scared and struggling to get consular assistance and the Government had a duty of care to act quickly for their sake, he said.
Misleading email warning
The Ministry of Health is cautioning people to not believe a misleading email being circulated about coronavirus which claims avoiding spicy food and eating vitamin C will help protect against the illness.
‘‘I also want to stress very clearly that we may not beina position, if we’re able to do this on one occasion, to do it on another occasion.’’
Scott Morrison
Australian Prime Minister