New Zealand has suffered a mini outbreak of COVID-19 cases imported from returning travelers:
After previously declaring the country was coronavirus-free, New Zealand has now recorded seven new cases within the last week.
All of those cases were imported from abroad, with Ms Ardern on Monday predicting more cases in the coming weeks.
She said as the pandemic continues to grow globally, it was inevitable more and more cases would arrive on New Zealand’s shores.
“One of the reasons we will keep seeing more cases is because we have had a doubling of the number of people in the last month coming back to New Zealand,” she told TVNZ1’s Breakfast, noting the number of arrivals in quarantine had doubled within a month.
“When New Zealanders return home, the likelihood of cases amongst those returning New Zealanders was very, very high.”
Because of these risks, Prime Minister Jacinda Adern has rejected the idea of flying international students into New Zealand to support the university sector:
Ardern said the Government was “not at this point” considering allowing limited numbers of international students into the country.
Australia’s policy makers should take a leaf out of Jacinda Adern’s book.
The announcement that Australia will fly in thousands of international students from July, funded in part by taxpayers, beggars belief.
In doing so, Australia’s governments and universities will greatly increase the likelihood of further COVID-19 outbreaks throughout Australia.
