COVID-19 Minister Ayesha Verrall said of visitors from China: “There is minimal public health risk for New Zealand.”
The New Zealand government has said it will not require travelers from China to present a negative test result for COVID-19 upon arrival, going against a trend that has seen some countries implement measures. test method as COVID cases increase in China.
New Zealand’s COVID-19 minister, Ayesha Verrall, said in a statement on Wednesday that a public health risk assessment had concluded travelers from China would not contribute significantly to the number of cases in the country. this country.
“There is very little public health risk to New Zealand,” the minister said.
“Officials have carried out a public health risk assessment, including looking at scenarios of potential cases among travelers from China. This confirms that these travelers will not significantly contribute to our COVID cases, meaning that entry restrictions are not mandatory or justifiable,” the minister said.
Officials will require some travelers from China to take voluntary tests to gather more information, Verrall said reflecting New Zealand’s concerns along with of the World Health Organization (WHO) on China’s lack of information sharing.
New Zealand is also planning to test wastewater on international flights to see if this can replace voluntary and targeted testing of individuals.
New Zealand has decided against pre-departure checks for China. COVID-19 Minister Ayesha Verrall said that “public health measures are not required to protect New Zealanders” due to the common variant in China. pic.twitter.com/nltOkZVHs2
– Ben McKay (@benmackey) January 4, 2023
Several countries including Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States are requiring travelers from China to present negative COVID test results because of concerns about the size of the country’s outbreak and skepticism over the number of COVID-19 cases. Beijing health statistics.
China has Criticize these moves as discrimination.
Health officials from the 27-member European Union will meet on Wednesday to build a coordinated response against the impact of increased tourism from China.
Most EU countries Priority COVID testing before departure for tourists from China, the European Commission said on Tuesday.
China, which has been largely closed to the world since the pandemic began in late 2019, will stop requiring domestic travelers to be quarantined from January 8. However, they will still require require incoming passengers to be tested prior to departure.
Meanwhile, WHO officials met with Chinese scientists on Tuesday, after inviting them to present detailed data on virus sequences and share hospitalization, mortality and vaccination data ahead of the meeting. meeting.
WHO will announce later, possibly at a press conference on Wednesday, the outcome of that meeting. A spokesman earlier said the agency expected a “detailed discussion” of variations circulating in China and globally.
Infections in China spiked after the country dropped its strict no-COVID policy on December 7.
All international arrivals to New Zealand are required to be tested if they have symptoms, the country will provide free testing at the airport.
