2019 Novel Coronavirus Covid-19 Discussion

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#2677040 19-Mar-2021 10:24

Fleeing a Covid ridden environment to get back home, is not the same as entering a potential Covid environment so you can go to SeaWorld. I dont get how you want to fund holidaymakers and others who voluntarily leave Covid free NZ and step into a potentially bad environment with no guarantee of stepping back onto a plane to rush back.

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#2677189 19-Mar-2021 13:06

Press release:

Tourism Minister Stuart Nash says planning is underway for a new-look tourism sector post the COVID19 vaccination programme and when international borders re-open.

Mr Nash has set out his tourism priorities in a speech at the Otago University Tourism Policy School conference in Queenstown this morning.

“The $400 million Tourism Recovery Package in 2020 was an emergency intervention. Further, structural support will be needed in 2021, before we make changes to prepare for a new landscape in 2022 and beyond,” Mr Nash said.

“The 2020 Package, and wider tourism support like $1.8 billion in wage subsidies, $300 million in interest-free loans, and government-funded vouchers for free business advice or training, have helped tourism operators adapt to domestic markets or look for alternatives.

“I have been upfront that mass-scale international tourism is unlikely before 2022, but we are working hard to open a trans-Tasman bubble in 2021. We are on-track to vaccinate the majority of Kiwis against COVID19 by the end of this year.

“Further support for tourism in 2021 requires a more structural approach for those who need it most. I am considering potential next steps till borders re-open, such as making it easier to hibernate firms and to startup again; help to diversify regional economies over-reliant on international tourism; and deployment of tourism workers to other sectors.

“The long-term picture for tourism once borders reopen requires more fundamental change. Consistent advice from within the sector, from small communities, and from external agencies like the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment demonstrate we cannot go back to the tourism model that existed prior to COVID19.

“Research by Tourism Industry Aotearoa and Tourism NZ shows a strong sentiment that even within tourism hotspots like Queenstown, as many as 79% of residents felt there was too much pressure from international visitors.

“In essence, tourism was beginning to lose its social licence to operate and we were running the very real risk of not being able to deliver on our global value proposition behind ‘Brand NZ’.

“We have a responsibility to take an intergenerational view of the role of tourism. I am looking to change the rules around freedom camping, which isn’t free at all for taxpayers or ratepayers who have to pick up the tab.

“I want to take another look at pricing strategies across public assets like national parks, so that the heavy pressure of international visitors is more financially sustainable. There is scope for a fresh look at existing levies like the International Visitor Levy to help ensure the true cost of tourism is priced into the international visitor experience.

“I also want the sector to step up and be part of improvements for the better. This could involve an Industry Transformation Plan where tourism operators join government agencies, workers’ groups, and iwi to improve the sustainability of the sector.

“I remain committed to my four key principles for transforming the tourism sector: Brand New Zealand must be protected; we cannot return to business as usual; the full cost of tourism must be priced into the visitor experience; and the Government intends to work in partnership with the sector to achieve change,” Mr Nash said.

wellygary

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#2677201 19-Mar-2021 13:24

freitasm:

Press release:

“I want to take another look at pricing strategies across public assets like national parks, so that the heavy pressure of international visitors is more financially sustainable. There is scope for a fresh look at existing levies like the International Visitor Levy to help ensure the true cost of tourism is priced into the international visitor experience.

I bet he Isn't talking of making it cheaper.... :)

lxsw20

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#2677205 19-Mar-2021 13:28

Just arrived in MIQ yesterday. Nice to get on terra firma after the 24h flight from UK with no getting off the plane at Singapore.

All the Staff/Navy/Army/Heath Pros have been extremely friendly/welcoming in the hotel, with an understanding you're not quite with it after getting off a flight like that.

cshwone

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#2677210 19-Mar-2021 13:43

tdgeek:
Fleeing a Covid ridden environment to get back home, is not the same as entering a potential Covid environment so you can go to SeaWorld. I dont get how you want to fund holidaymakers and others who voluntarily leave Covid free NZ and step into a potentially bad environment with no guarantee of stepping back onto a plane to rush back.

If you're heading of to the Uk for example that Is a potentially bad environment.

But we are not. We are talking about Australia with a government sanctioned travel bubble due to their risk profile being similar if not better than ours.

freitasm

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#2677215 19-Mar-2021 13:51

Oh, dear... France announces new lockdown for Paris amid soaring Covid cases | The Independent

A further 34,998 new cases were recorded in France on Thursday, roughly seven-times that of the UK.

Almost exactly one year after France introduced its first coronavirus lockdown, French Prime Minister Jean Castex has announced new confinement measures to combat a fresh surge of Covid-19 cases.

From midnight on Friday, residents of 16 departments will only be allowed to leave home under specific circumstances, though the restrictive measures are less strict than the first lockdown last March.

The restrictions will be introduced in Paris and its surrounding Ile-de-France region, as well as in Hauts-de-France and parts of Normandy in the north of the country.

Only essential shops will remain open, inter-regional travel is banned, and anyone travelling more than 10km from home or in the evenings will need to fill out a form explaining the purpose of their trip. Schools will remain open and outdoor activities are permitted.

A nationwide curfew has already been in place between 6pm and 6am every day for the last two months, which remains in place, though this has not managed to slow the spread of the disease.

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#2677223 19-Mar-2021 14:19

cshwone:

If you're heading of to the Uk for example that Is a potentially bad environment.

But we are not. We are talking about Australia with a government sanctioned travel bubble due to their risk profile being similar if not better than ours.

They import cases as we do, they get outbreaks as we do, more so it seems, no doubt due to probability, more people more risk. But yes its good there. NZ will be increasing its risk as its now a 30 million country not 5. Australia's bubble risk is from 25 to 30, not as much. We are at more risk. If an outbreak occurred there (as it can here) its already spread before it hit the news. NZ has to be aware of that, and accept it. Both countries are not Covid free, we have cases daily in MIQ's, leaks will happen as expected, and when one does, no one will be locked up for the 14 days after arrival, they will be spreading the love, we just need to be well aware of that risk. If nothing happens, stupid Govt, if an outbreak is shared with the two countries, a media frenzy of blame. At least Michael Baker has said its very low risk

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Jase2985

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#2677225 19-Mar-2021 14:22

lxsw20:

Just arrived in MIQ yesterday. Nice to get on terra firma after the 24h flight from UK with no getting off the plane at Singapore.

All the Staff/Navy/Army/Heath Pros have been extremely friendly/welcoming in the hotel, with an understanding you're not quite with it after getting off a flight like that.

Which hotel are you in?

frankv

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#2677228 19-Mar-2021 14:26

DS248:

frankv:
I think a difficulty is in guaranteeing that someone arriving in Australia from (say) Europe is really covid-free when they leave Aussie's MIQ and get on a plane to NZ. Good luck with that international contact tracing!

...

No different to the risk of them introducing C-19 into the AU community if they stay there rather than come over here. That is a risk both countries have been managing for the last year or so.
And in anycase, that risk can almost be entirely eliminated by a simple 'no-fly the Tasman' restriction within the first 14 or 28 days of ending quarantine (already some restrictions on that here if I recall correctly)

1. The difference is that the risk is managed by AU, not NZ. And AU (rightly) doesn't have NZ's best interests at heart. We would have to trust ScoMo to do the right thing and not ship potential health problems to NZ. And of course the converse applies to people arriving in NZ and moving on to AU.

2. Yes, I can see that working, if it can be enforced. There is the edge case of tracking dual-citizens movements in and out of AU, but the numbers of those should be very small.

lxsw20

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#2677231 19-Mar-2021 14:33

Jase2985:

lxsw20:

Just arrived in MIQ yesterday. Nice to get on terra firma after the 24h flight from UK with no getting off the plane at Singapore.

All the Staff/Navy/Army/Heath Pros have been extremely friendly/welcoming in the hotel, with an understanding you're not quite with it after getting off a flight like that.

Which hotel are you in?

Novotel Ellerslie.

Handle9

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#2677245 19-Mar-2021 15:08

Fred99:
Handle9:

The government does nothing to support anyone who travels overseas. There were a ton of people stuck at the start of the pandemic and there was very little done outside of consular support and a couple of repatriation flights from India.

Why would people travelling to Australia be any different?

Uhh no.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/123847341/air-new-zealand-repatriates-7100-passengers-stranded-by-covid19-in-2020

Other country's repatriation charter flights arriving here to pick up px weren't arriving empty either, we saw the unusual site of Lufthansa (and other airlines) A380's arriving in Chch bringing NZers home, loading up here, dropping ie Thai residents in Bangkok, picking up more Germans there before flying home.

And then we shut the doors in mid-March. If we hadn't, we'd have a pile of dead people and would have spent the past year in lockdown, unless the "just the flu" crowd had won.

The "vector" that turns the next epidemic into a global pandemic will probably be airlines again.

Uh yes.

Read the article- there were government chartered flights from India, the balance were not.

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#2677246 19-Mar-2021 15:11

GV27:
Handle9:

The government does nothing to support anyone who travels overseas.

It just runs a massively expensive MIQ system at the expense of the same taxpayers it's now saying would be on their own.

How is that of benefit to the people returning from overseas? It's run for the benefit of the people in New Zealand, not for the benefit of people returning.

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#2677278 19-Mar-2021 15:39

GV27:
I just find the attitude of "you're on your own" towards Kiwis who live here and who might take a short holiday through a government-sanctioned travel bubble to be at odds with how Kiwis who moved overseas permanently had some inalienable right of return that we apparently weren't allowed to consider curtailing, despite there being a raging and ongoing global pandemic in the places those Kiwis were moving back from for the past 12 months.

It's a moral hazard argument. If it's disclosed up front then I don't have a problem with that. Paying for MIQ is on the same basis. If you leave NZ after the 11th of August you know you are liable for MIQ regardless of your circumstances.

No one who went overseas for any period of time prior to the pandemic knew that this might happen.

freitasm

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#2677325 19-Mar-2021 17:53

Press release:

New Zealand is providing support to Papua New Guinea following a surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has announced.

“New Zealand is very concerned by the worsening COVID-19 situation in Papua New Guinea, and have agreed to assist where we can,” said Nanaia Mahuta.

“New Zealand is committed to supporting our Pacific neighbours through these unprecedented times. We need to look beyond our own borders in the fight to eradicate COVID-19.”

“We are providing support to the Government of Papua New Guinea as it identifies and responds to emergency needs created by the pandemic. PPE remains a priority as the health system feels the pressure, so a New Zealand Defence Force flight is scheduled to deliver PPE from Auckland to Port Moresby on Saturday.”

“We are also making funding available to the New Zealand High Commission in Port Moresby to respond to needs on the ground, as requested by partners in Papua New Guinea.”

PPE kits comprising of hand sanitiser, goggles, biohazard bags, Milton sterilising tablets, shoe covers, sharps boxes, infrared thermometers, swabs, gloves, gowns, surgical masks and face shields will be sufficient to treat 1,000 COVID-19 cases.

The support announced today is in addition to the $6 million in COVID-19 related support that New Zealand has provided to Papua New Guinea over the last year, including budget support, medical supplies and equipment. New Zealand has also contributed to the World Health Organisation’s Papua New Guinea office to support its COVID-19 response plan and has supported community-level COVID-19 risk reduction efforts through New Zealand NGOs and their local partners.

“Our thoughts are with the people of Papua New Guinea who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and in particular the whānau of the people who have tragically lost their lives.”

“We remain in close contact with counterparts in the Government of Papua New Guinea and stand ready to assist further as areas for additional support become clear,” Nanaia Mahuta said.

mattwnz

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#2677334 19-Mar-2021 18:26

Handle9:

No one who went overseas for any period of time prior to the pandemic knew that this might happen.

Depends on the date when it was considered to be a pandemic. I recall there were people that left to go on holidays overseas when we were requiring incoming people from some countries to self isolate after arrival in NZ. Then they had to rush to return to NZ if they could. When I think it was fairly obvious based on how the numbers were growing that travel would be getting restricted.

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