New Zealand suspends entry for travellers from India amid COVID-19 cases surge
By Team Newsable | First Published Apr 8, 2021, 9:59 AM ISTThe suspension of entry for all travellers, including New Zealand’s own citizens, begins from 4pm local time on April 11 and will be in place until April 28, the New Zealand PM said.
Wellington: New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern, on Thursday, temporarily suspended entry for all travellers from India, including its own citizens, following a high number of positive Covid-19 cases arriving from the country.
"We are temporarily suspending entry into New Zealand for travellers from India... The suspension will start from 1600 local time on April 11 and will be in place until April 28. I want to emphasize that while arrivals of Covid from India has prompted this measure, we are looking at how we manage high-risk points of departure generally. This is not a country-specific risk assessment...," Ardern was quoted as saying by Reuters.
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The suspension of entry for all travellers, including New Zealand’s own citizens, begins from 4pm local time on April 11 and will be in place until April 28, the New Zealand PM was quoted as saying by the agency. During this time the government will look at risk management measures to resume travel, she added.
India is battling a deadly second wave of Covid-19 with daily infections this week passing the peak of the first wave seen last September. Over the past few days, India has been recording over one lakh cases every day becoming the only country after the US and Brazil to record six-figure spikes in daily numbers. The country’s total case tally has gone up to 12.8 million, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
New Zealand has virtually eliminated the virus within its borders and has not reported any community transmission locally for about 40 days.
But it's been reviewing its border settings as more people with infections arrive in New Zealand recently, majority being from India.
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