New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern calls military to deal with COVID-19

New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern calls military to deal with COVID-19

Ardern adopted the measure after two women, who had arrived in New Zealand from UK on June 7, travelled 650 kms from Auckland to Wellington without completing mandatory 14-day quarantine

AgenciesUpdated: Wednesday, June 17, 2020, 10:16 PM IST
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New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern | PIC: AFP

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Wednesday ordered a top defence official to monitor COVID-19 isolation facilities and borders after a "failure of the system" in which two overseas arrivals were able to leave managed quarantine and later tested positive for the virus.

Ardern, whose government has been praised for its early, strict and effective response to the pandemic, adopted the measure after reports emerged that two women, who had arrived in New Zealand from the United Kingdom on June 7, travelled some 650 kms (404 miles) from Auckland to Wellington without completing the mandatory 14-day quarantine or undergoing COVID-19 testing, Efe news reported. The women, who were allowed on compassionate grounds to travel six days after their arrival in New Zealand, later tested positive for COVID-19, following which New Zealand authorities have contacted the 320 close contacts of the pair to ask them to be tested for the virus.

"This case represents an unacceptable failure of the system. It should never have happened and it cannot be repeated," Ardern said.

Ardern reiterated that people in quarantine and isolation facilities were required to be tested for the virus on Day 3 and Day 12 of their stay. "That should have happened in the cases we learned about yesterday. It did not and there are no excuses," she said. "Our borders and our controls at the borders must be rigorous," the leader stressed. "They must be disciplined and they must have the confidence of ministers and all of you, New Zealanders, who got us here (to zero cases).

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