New Zealand suspends entry of travellers from India for 2 weeks

WELLINGTON: New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern today declared a two-week temporary suspension of all travellers from India, including New Zealand citizens and residents.

This is attributed to an increase in COVID cases in India.

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New Zealand recorded 23 cases of COVID at its borders on Thursday, 17 of which came from India.

While the arrival of COVID from India prompted this measure, we are looking at how we handle high-risk points of departure in general, prime minister Ardern said. This is not a risk assessment for a particular nation, she added.

For the past 40 days, no group transmission has been recorded in New Zealand. Despite the fact that a border worker tested positive for COVID on Thursday, attempts to vaccinate the 24-year-old were under way.

India announced 1,15,736 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 1,28,01,785. The death toll has risen to 1,66,177 people.

This is the country's largest one-day increase in cases since the pandemic started.

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