Travel Bubble to Cooks

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#2534227 4-Aug-2020 08:14

xlinknz:

Here is some detail on how the travel bubble will work at airports

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/422642/travel-bubble-auckland-airport-announces-separate-zones-at-terminal

To be fair, that plan has been in place at Auckland Airport since May and was developed with the government and the ministry of health. However the action on that plan has been on hold while the government sits in their hands. We’ve had plans in place with Auckland Airport on how to manage passengers flying to and from bubble countries since them.

I feel that the Cooks, like French Polynesia, Fiji and Vanuatu are going to have to make some hard calls on their economy very soon. French Polynesia opened up their boarders with the USA three weeks ago in order to save their economy. Fiji opened boarders to Singapore, China and very soon the USA to protect their economy. Vanuatu will be doing the same.

As a country, we had the opportunity to start talking to these countries early on in order to establish open boarders with a mutually agreeable system. A way that would’ve protected to us both from the ravages from COVID. However as our government has not committed anything, those countries who we would’ve opened up with, have been pushed too far down the road of economic ruin and are prepared to take the risk in order to save their own people.

Each time another Pacific Island paradise makes the call to open up to save themselves, will mean one less country we will open with. I don’t blame those countries because they have to look after themselves and New Zealand is starting to show that although we want them to be healthy, we don’t care about their economic situation, that can become something China can fix for them.

wellygary

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#2534267 4-Aug-2020 09:32

xlinknz:

Here is some detail on how the travel bubble will work at airports

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/422642/travel-bubble-auckland-airport-announces-separate-zones-at-terminal

I suspect the Cooks bubble has been delayed until it confirmed there is no community infection in NZ as a result of the 2 Kiwis who tested positive at arrival overseas. Add the Cooks are unlikely to open their end if there is unaccounted cases in NZ

Its not the Cooks that are dragging the chain on this, it is NZ,

The Cooks wage subsidy scheme ends at the end of September, and if thing are not up and running by then, most of the tourism businesses will fold, and lots of people will start booking flights to NZ (which as NZ citizens they are entitled to enter)

MikeAqua

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#2534496 4-Aug-2020 13:30

xlinknz:

Here is some detail on how the travel bubble will work at airports

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/422642/travel-bubble-auckland-airport-announces-separate-zones-at-terminal

Sounds like they have the HVAC sorted and the passenger flow but it will only work no-one and nothing moves from B to A. That's easy to say and very hard to do. It's often movement of staff and equipment that causes animal or plant biosecurity breaches. For example: divers' wetsuits spreading fish diseases.

Mike

wellygary

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#2534582 4-Aug-2020 15:43

MikeAqua:

xlinknz:

Here is some detail on how the travel bubble will work at airports

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/422642/travel-bubble-auckland-airport-announces-separate-zones-at-terminal

Sounds like they have the HVAC sorted and the passenger flow but it will only work no-one and nothing moves from B to A. That's easy to say and very hard to do. It's often movement of staff and equipment that causes animal or plant biosecurity breaches. For example: divers' wetsuits spreading fish diseases.

Hopefully the daily MIQ cap of 450-500 should help the Airport manage those arriving at Pier B in a way that doesn't cause any lapses,

From what they have said my biggest concern would be the external contractors ( Vending machine loaders, pot plant waterers etc ) all who are only likely to be on site for a short period, and then potentially go on to other locations back within Level1 NZ...

xlinknz

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#2538142 10-Aug-2020 19:05

Located here is the Govt update on the Cooks Bubble in case you haven't heard that already

In short an audit required by NZ within 10 days on the process to effect the bubble. Presumably this is to validate what the Cooks have in place for Covid i.e. controls, medical etc.
A quarantine free bubble should be in place by xmas. Presumably assuming no change to status quo e.g. community transmission in NZ or Cooks

My observations:

I wonder what the work was that official have been doing to date on the said bubble
The Cooks wage subsidy finishes at the end of Sept
Hopefully a mutually agreeable date is agreed to in 10 days otherwise...
The Cooks could open their border to NZ citizens now to allow a tricke of those happy to pay return quarantine costs or stay until the bubble is in place

sbiddle

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#2538147 10-Aug-2020 19:28

4 months is a loooooooooooong time in this Covid world. By then you'll have a lot of global travel opened up, and if things go to plan the UK and UK potentially having rolled out vaccines to large portions of their populations.

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Geektastic

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#2538310 10-Aug-2020 21:38

I think I would prefer Tahiti. Any chance of that do you think?

xlinknz

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#2538320 10-Aug-2020 22:00

Geektastic:

I think I would prefer Tahiti. Any chance of that do you think?

If you were not aware Tahiti unlike the Cooks has an open border, you can indeed go there, be mindful of the recent Covid-19 cases that now have

Fred99

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#2538331 10-Aug-2020 23:30

sbiddle:

4 months is a loooooooooooong time in this Covid world. By then you'll have a lot of global travel opened up, and if things go to plan the UK and UK potentially having rolled out vaccines to large portions of their populations.

There won't be a proven effective vaccine approved for general use this year.

Phase III trials for the "Oxford Vaccine" won't be complete to schedule until August 2021.

It's possible that "emergency use" approval might be given earlier, but until efficacy is proven, there's no way anybody vaccinated should not be subject to the same isolation/quarantine required for anybody else. Vaccinating ~60 million people with an inadequately tested vaccine is madness (except in Russia maybe).

dafman

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#2538356 11-Aug-2020 08:07

sbiddle:

4 months is a loooooooooooong time in this Covid world. By then you'll have a lot of global travel opened up, and if things go to plan the UK and UK potentially having rolled out vaccines to large portions of their populations.

Any global travel that opens up within the next 4 months will between countries living with significant Covid within their respective communities. That's not us (yet).

And a vaccine in the next four months? I've heard very few, if any, medical experts supporting this optimism.

sbiddle

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#2538370 11-Aug-2020 08:57

dafman:

sbiddle:

4 months is a loooooooooooong time in this Covid world. By then you'll have a lot of global travel opened up, and if things go to plan the UK and UK potentially having rolled out vaccines to large portions of their populations.

Any global travel that opens up within the next 4 months will between countries living with significant Covid within their respective communities. That's not us (yet).

And a vaccine in the next four months? I've heard very few, if any, medical experts supporting this optimism.

It's been well reported in the past week or so that Russia hope to begin the rollout of it's vaccine in October (only several hundred thousand does per month but ramping up very quickly) and that both the Oxford/AstraZenica and Moderna Phase 3 trials should hopefully be close to complete by November. Whether we'll have definitive data from both then is really what will determine how quick a rollout happens, as huge quantities of vaccines are already being produced in both countries, and in others such as India where Oxford/AstraZenica have licenced the vaccine. Emergency rollouts will almost certainly begin before the end of the year.

It'll potentially be 12+ months from now before we see a rollout in NZ, but that doesn't mean lots of other countries will not see mass vaccination campaigns by then if clinical data shows positive results.

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wellygary

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#2538378 11-Aug-2020 09:14

xlinknz:

Located here is the Govt update on the Cooks Bubble in case you haven't heard that already

In short an audit required by NZ within 10 days on the process to effect the bubble. Presumably this is to validate what the Cooks have in place for Covid i.e. controls, medical etc.
A quarantine free bubble should be in place by xmas. Presumably assuming no change to status quo e.g. community transmission in NZ or Cooks

My observations:

I wonder what the work was that official have been doing to date on the said bubble
The Cooks wage subsidy finishes at the end of Sept
Hopefully a mutually agreeable date is agreed to in 10 days otherwise...
The Cooks could open their border to NZ citizens now to allow a tricke of those happy to pay return quarantine costs or stay until the bubble is in place

The Cook Islands announcement is a political crock ," some time before the end of the year" is not a timeframe , its designed to put it off the agenda in NZ till after the election.

There is no details on what physically needs to happen to allow travel to occur, just vague words about Bureaucrats and clipboards "auditing" and validating what is happening...

In regard to the Cooks opening their border..... its open now to Cook islanders and Permanent residents, they dropped any quarantine requirements for those travelling from NZ in June and so far have had around 500 travel back and go straight back into the population, no trouble, no infection...

jonb

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#2538380 11-Aug-2020 09:20

The should just run the Cook Islands and Nuie through Auckland domestic terminal. Both NZ territories with no Covid cars, and not opened up to anywhere else in the world (unlike e.g. Fiji and Tonga).
Removes the complexity of separation between incoming travellers from Covid countries.

xlinknz

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#2538385 11-Aug-2020 09:41

wellygary:

xlinknz:

Located here is the Govt update on the Cooks Bubble in case you haven't heard that already

In short an audit required by NZ within 10 days on the process to effect the bubble. Presumably this is to validate what the Cooks have in place for Covid i.e. controls, medical etc.
A quarantine free bubble should be in place by xmas. Presumably assuming no change to status quo e.g. community transmission in NZ or Cooks

My observations:

I wonder what the work was that official have been doing to date on the said bubble
The Cooks wage subsidy finishes at the end of Sept
Hopefully a mutually agreeable date is agreed to in 10 days otherwise...
The Cooks could open their border to NZ citizens now to allow a tricke of those happy to pay return quarantine costs or stay until the bubble is in place

The Cook Islands announcement is a political crock ," some time before the end of the year" is not a timeframe , its designed to put it off the agenda in NZ till after the election.

There is no details on what physically needs to happen to allow travel to occur, just vague words about Bureaucrats and clipboards "auditing" and validating what is happening...

In regard to the Cooks opening their border..... its open now to Cook islanders and Permanent residents, they dropped any quarantine requirements for those travelling from NZ in June and so far have had around 500 travel back and go straight back into the population, no trouble, no infection...

Indeed, as many are saying why has the audit and agreement not already been done the only item to be effected was the opening date?

Add also the previous 'fixation' of a bubble with Australia in explicitly it seems has delayed any earlier focus on bubble with the Cooks

Furthermore some in the Cooks are now asserting that the NZ tourist sector has lobbied the NZ govt to not open a bubble to the Cooks citing risk to NZ etc

My sincere suggestion to the Cooks is that in 10 days if the date is not agreeable the Cooks open their order to NZ passport holders anyway to allow some activity whilst the glacial progress on the bubble continues, that would allow some economic stimulus as many would who can afford to go would be ok to pay the quarantine cost or wait in the Cooks until no inbound quarantine from the Cooks is required

Geektastic

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#2538490 11-Aug-2020 10:30

xlinknz:

Geektastic:

I think I would prefer Tahiti. Any chance of that do you think?

If you were not aware Tahiti unlike the Cooks has an open border, you can indeed go there, be mindful of the recent Covid-19 cases that now have

No I wasn't.

TBH that sort of holiday is not really my sort of thing but being French, Tahiti probably has better food!😎

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