New Zealand announces temporary ban on travellers from India

New Zealand will ban entry for all travellers from India temporarily from April 11 due to the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases.

The decision to ban travellers from India was taken soon after New Zealand reported 23 new positive cases at its border among which 17 were from India.

The ban will be enforced from 4pm local time on April 11 and will continue till April 28. During this period all flights from India will be suspended. This will be done to curb the spread of coronavirus in quarantine facilities by reducing the number of arriving passengers from India who test positive for Covid-19.

At a press conference in New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that the country is temporarily suspending entry into New Zealand for travellers from India. She further added that she wants to emphasise that while arrivals of COVID cases from India have prompted this measure, they are looking at how New Zealand can manage high risk points of departure.

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She also explained that anyone who had been to India in the past 14 days would be restricted from entering the country until April 28 and that these restrictions are also applicable to residents of New Zealand.

The Prime Minister said that she understands that this decree would affect citizens of New Zealand currently residing in India, but she felt a sense of responsibility and obligation towards the travellers and had to find ways to reduce the risk.

India has recorded a worrisome number of 126,789 Covid-19 cases in a single day recently, as the country experiences a second wave of COVID-19.