International media reacts in disbelief after UK pair upset NZ's COVID-free status

[Kapalika]

I saw last time I was in Bakersfield. Throngs and hordes of pudding brains! Everywhere! At this point I'd pay the extra to live in LA county just to live where the distancing and mask wearing in public is mandatory.
And we're really not seeing a surge here, but the same initial wave that hasn't actually subsided. The state was basically closed down for nothing. Because people only think about "me" and what "I" want and all these they claim they have that don't actually exist. People blame the protests, but at least around here the public had a collective dumbass attack around Memorial Day and gave up on safety measures.

At least protests were outdoors and nearly everyone wore masks at them across the country. Can't say the same for memorial weekend.

 

[Dawnofhope]

This was always going to happen. It is why NZ has the mandatory quarantine procedure for new arrivals. What beats me is why these people were not tested before being allowed compassionate leave to travel (to see a dying relative, I gather). Then if they were +ve they could have at least been given PPE to wear and transported as "radioactive", to avoid them passing it on.

But one hopes the NZ track and trace system will identify, isolate and test all their contacts. The country is going to need to keep that system in a state of readiness until a vaccine arrives - assuming an effective vaccine is possible.

The two woman traveled from Auckland to Wellington to see their dying mother. They should have been tested and cleared before they were cleared to leave on compassionate grounds. 320 people have been identified as potential contacts so the vigorous tracing and testing is well underway. The protocol is all arrivals should be quarantined for 14 days in isolation and tested on days 3 and 12. However, under pressure the government have allowed an increasing number of people to leave under certain conditions if compassionate grounds. After this fiasco, there will be no more compassionate leave under any circumstances. I'm quietly optimistic community outbreak will be prevented. The military will be overseeing future quarantine arrangements to ensure stringent protocols are followed.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

Australia wouldn't be bad either. But almost anywhere that has stepped into the 21st century would be better.

Not Papua New Guinea, then. The witch burnings don't exactly scream 'modern'.

 

[exchemist]

The two woman traveled from Auckland to Wellington to see their dying mother. They should have been tested and cleared before they were cleared to leave on compassionate grounds. 320 people have been identified as potential contacts so the vigorous tracing and testing is well underway. The protocol is all arrivals should be quarantined for 14 days in isolation and tested on days 3 and 12. However, under pressure the government have allowed an increasing number of people to leave under certain conditions if compassionate grounds. After this fiasco, there will be no more compassionate leave under any circumstances. I'm quietly optimistic community outbreak will be prevented. The military will be overseeing future quarantine arrangements to ensure stringent protocols are followed.

That's a lot of contacts for just 2 people. Phew!

But thanks for clarifying the procedure. I presume these people were -ve on day 3 and were allowed to skip the day 12 test. The authorities won't do that again, I imagine.

But anyway, a test of the system, so no doubt lessons will be learnt.