New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Thursday announced a temporary ban on travelers from India starting April 11 due to the massive increase in Covid-19 case.
"I want to emphasize that while arrivals of COVID from India have prompted this measure, we are looking at how we manage high-risk points of departure generally. This is not a country-specific risk assessment...," Jacinda Ardern was quoted as saying.
The suspension of entry for all travelers, including New Zealand’s own citizens, begins from 4 pm 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.
The temporary ban comes at a time when India has been reporting over 100,00 cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) daily for the past three days. 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, Reuters reported, adding that the country has been reviewing its border settings as more people with infections came recently, the majority from India. New Zealand logged 23 new positive coronavirus cases at its border on Thursday, of which 17 were from India.
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