New Zealand military to oversee border control just after expats test corona+
17 June, 2020
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ordered the military to oversee New Zealand's borders Wednesday after a good quarantine bungle that allowed COVID-19 back to the country.
A 24-day run without latest cases was broken on Tuesday when it emerged two women who recently arrived from Britain were allowed out of quarantine early without having to be tested for the virus, despite the fact that one had mild symptoms.
The pair were eventually swabbed and became infected, but only once they made a 650 kilometre (400 mile) road-trip from Auckland to Wellington to see a dying relative.
Ardern said it had been "absolutely nonsensical" these were not tested earlier and it was clear border controls would have to be tightened to make sure similar failures were not repeated.
She said the assistant chief of defence Digby Webb have been appointed to oversee border quarantine businesses and had been given access to military personnel and logistical expertise.
"My check out is that we need the rigour, we are in need of the confidence, we need the self-discipline that the military can provide," Ardern told reporters.
Health and wellbeing Minister David Clark said New Zealand had successfully "eliminated COVID-19" ahead of most up-to-date imported cases, after recording only 22 deaths in a good population of five million.
The South Pacific nation last week scrapped domestic social distancing measures while maintaining solid border restrictions.
Ardern about Wednesday suspended the programme that allowed the ladies to come to be released early from quarantine over compassionate grounds, saying New Zealand's good virus response cannot be undermined.
She stressed that the women, who were visiting a dying relative, had done nothing wrong and complied with health protocols constantly.
The women stay in isolation as health officials scramble to check about 320 people they had connection with while in New Zealand.
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