Britons bring virus back to New Zealand

NEW ZEALAND reported its first cases of coronavirus in almost a month yesterday when two arrivals from Britain tested positive after being released early from quarantine to visit a dying relative.

Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister, was praised for her aggressive strategy of “eliminating” the virus, and the country had zero active cases before the two women – one in her 30s and one in her 40s – arrived on June 7.

Arrivals need to have spent at least one week in isolation and test negative. But the women were released under compassionate leave rules that came into effect on June 9. The rules have now been suspended.

The women arrived on a UK flight via Doha and Brisbane, and were allowed to leave managed isolation in Auckland on compassionate grounds on June 13.

One of the women had mild symptoms on arrival in Auckland, but they were wrongly attributed to a preexisting condition so the pair were placed in managed isolation rather than strict quarantine. Dr Ashley

Bloomfield, New Zealand’s director general of health, told reporters the virus may have been detected if daily health checks had been carried out properly, including asking them about every individual Covid-19 symptom.

Dr Bloomfield said the women’s application for leave was expedited because of the sudden death of their parent and they were allowed to travel to Wellington without being tested.

He said the women drove themselves and were in contact with one family member in Wellington. They could have picked the virus up in the UK, in airports or on their flights, he added. Video of them at Auckland Airport is being analysed to identify any possible contacts.

The women’s UK contacts are not being traced by Public Health England.

PHE said the onus was on New Zealand to conduct a risk assessment and it would only get involved if asked.

A spokesman said: “It is for the country where the case is identified to conduct a risk assessment. Under contact tracing we are interested in cases of contacts 48 hours before they become symptomatic. I believe (the two women) were in the country longer than that.”