A Māori supporter of Pacific independence movements claims the French government has “constructed the crisis” in New Caledonia by pushing the indigenous Kanak population to the edge, reports Atereano Mateariki of Waatea News.

A NZ Defence Force Hercules is today evacuating about 50 New Zealanders stranded in the French Pacific island territory by riots that broke out last week over a plan to give mainland settlers voting rights after 10 years’ residence.

Sina Brown-Davis from Kia Mau Aotearoa said Kanak leaders had worked patiently towards independence since the last major flare-up in the 1980s, but the increased militarisation of the Pacific seemed to have hardened the resolve of France to hang on to its colonial territory.

“Those rights to self-determination, those rights to independence of the Kanak people as an inalienable right are the road block to the continued militarisation of our region and of those islands,” she said.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

For the first time in more than two years, New Zealand’s border will reopen to international visitors at midnight tonight.

On 19 March 2020, New Zealand snapped its border shut to anyone without citizenship or residency, before any covid-19-related deaths were recorded.

It was the first time in our history such a move was made, with the ban also including those from the Pacific.

Today, the countdown is on to welcome back vaccinated visitors from 60 visa-waiver countries.

New Zealand’s already reopened the border to vaccinated Australians and some international students.

Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran said almost 1000 people will arrive on the first three flights, which will come from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Fiji.

The airline has been struggling to prepare for the influx in international visitors due to staff recruitment issues.

The Ministry of Health reported 14 more more deaths with covid-19 and a further 8242 new community cases on Friday.

The seven-day rolling average of case numbers was 7540, down from last week’s 8166.

The total number of reported deaths with covid-19 rose to 737

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has raised its travel advisory warning on travel to New Zealand.

The CDC updated its travel warning to “level four: very high” for travel to New Zealand due to covid-19 cases, of which today alone there was 23,894 new cases recorded.

According to the Reuters’ Covid-19 tracker, covid-19 infections are decreasing in United States, with 49,611 new infections reported on average each day.

The CDC states if people must travel to New Zealand they should ensure they are up-to-date with their covid-19 vaccinations.

The health warnings are determined by the “level of covid-19 in the country or other special considerations”.

Many countries have been rated with a level four risk warning by the CDC, including Australia. Hong Kong and Thailand were also added to the list today.

Travel restrictions were eased in New Zealand from last week, with returnees now not required to self-isolate upon arrival.

Record 23,894 new cases
The Ministry of Health reported a record 23,894 new cases of covid-19 today, with 9881 in Auckland.

In addition there are 756 people in hospital with covid-19 and 16 of those are in ICU. The seven-day rolling average of community cases is 18,669, up from yesterday.

Of the new cases, 596 were confirmed via PCR testing and 23,298 via rapid antigen tests (RATs).

At the covid-19 update today, Director of Public Health Dr Caroline McElnay said the actual number of cases in the community was expected to be considerably higher, but that was hard to gauge when using RAT as the primary test.

That was why the ministry was focusing on hospitalisations, McElnay said.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The Philippine Court of Appeals (CA) has finally granted overseas travel to Rappler CEO and Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa, who will be in the United States for the entire month of November to deliver a series of lectures at the Harvard Kennedy School in Boston.

Ressa filed the request on October 5, three days before the Nobel announcement was made.

The CA promulgated its decision in favour of Ressa on October 18, 10 days after the journalist was named one of the two joint winners of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.

Unlike past travel requests, the CA Eighth Division said the Harvard lectures were proven to be urgent and necessary.

In August 2020, the CA denied Ressa’s travel request saying that to accept the 2020 International Press Freedom Award from the National Press Club was not necessary and urgent.

In December 2020, the CA also denied a travel request from Ressa to visit her 76-year-old mother in Florida who had just been diagnosed with breast cancer two months prior to the request. The CA said then that it was also not considered a necessary and urgent travel.

For this request, the CA said Harvard’s “invitation letter shows that Ressa’s participation in the programme requires her physical presence” and that “in fact, the Harvard Kennedy School explained that the programme involves an in-person 30-day residency.”

Wish to visit her parents
Ressa also indicated in her request her wish to visit her parents in Florida within November which will coincide with the American Thanksgiving holiday, saying she had not seen them in two years.

The CA said “humanitarian reasons support Ressa’s intended travel,” adding that “certainly, one’s legitimate intention to be reunited with her/his parents cannot be doubted”.

Generally, a person under trial for bailable offences in the Philippines are easily granted their travel requests. The other courts handling Ressa’s tax and securities charges have granted her requests.

It’s the CA, which is handling her appeal for her cyber libel conviction, that’s the hardest to hurdle as conviction further restricts one’s right to travel.

“While Ressa’s conviction changes her situation and warrants the exercise of greater caution in allowing her to leave the Philippines, her undisputed compliance with the conditions imposed by the court a quo on her previous travels shows that she is not a flight risk,” said the CA, the decision penned by Associate Justice Geraldine Fiel-Macaraig, with concurrences from Associate Justices Elihu Ybañez and Angelene Mary Quimpo-Sale.

Ressa is scheduled to fly home to the Philippines in early December. To attend the Nobel awarding in Oslo on December 10, she would have to file another batch of travel requests before all the courts handling the seven cases.

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) tried to contest this travel grant, citing among others Ressa’s alleged flight risk, but the CA did not agree.

“We cannot sustain the OSG’s opposition grounded on Ressa’s dual citizenship and alleged lack of respect for the Philippine judicial system because the same is speculative as of now,” the CA said in its October 29 denial of OSG’s motion for reconsideration.

Ressa has strong economic ties in the Philippines as she is the CEO of Rappler, an online media platform based in the country.”

Lian Buan covers justice and corruption for Rappler. This article is republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Cook Island businesses holding out for much needed tourists have now got a reprieve with a travel bubble with New Zealand less than two weeks away.

It will start on May 17, with Air New Zealand offering flights from May 18.

During yesterday’s announcement, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown said there had been enormous sacrifices made to keep covid-19 out and communities safe.

“Our economy has been devastated, today we start our journey of recovery. Today, we get back into business and today, we start to rebuild,” he said.

Cook Islands Tourism Industry Council president Liana Scott said the bubble announcement was a relief as the wait had been dire for many businesses and financial support from the government due to run out next month.

“Some of them have mentioned to me, if it takes longer than May, they don’t think they can hang in any longer,” she said.

“We have been lucky enough to have the government support through a wage subsidy and, without that, business would not have been able to continue.”

Businesses begin preparations
Scott said businesses had already begun to prepare for overseas guests.

“Some properties have been in hibernation, so they have been closed completely and I’ve already seen on Facebook they’ve been having staff doing some rotational shifts, getting into the rooms, servicing aircons and those sorts of things,” she said.

She said some hotels have even been making their own jam while they waited for shipments of individual breakfast spreads to come in for guests

But she said some business had lost workers to New Zealand as the wage subsidy was only enough to survive on let alone pay the mortgage and other bills.

When the one way bubble was announced in January, 304 Cook Island residents left either for a short term stay or permanently.

“A lot of that young working population has moved to New Zealand to do some seasonal and permanent roles and I think filling those roles will be quite difficult,” she said.

Three flights a week
Once the bubble is up and running Air New Zealand will fly to the Cook Islands two or three times a week.

The airline expects to step that up to daily from July in time for the school holidays.

However, National Party leader Judith Collins said the government had not been moving fast enough to reconnect with other Pacific countries.

“The fact is these countries have almost no other income other than remittances, it is simply deplorable that the government has not moved faster on this.

“It shouldn’t be hard when there’s no cases in these other countries,” she said.

In the past, Samoa’s Prime Minster has been reluctant to open up the borders following the measles outbreak and Tonga’s Prime Minister has said a vaccination programme needs to be done first.

Nuie’s Premier Dalton Tagelagi is waiting to see how successful the Cook Islands bubble is before lobbying for one of its own.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it makes the most sense for realm countries to be the next countries in line for a bubble, but the decision is “in the hands of those countries.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

After months of discussions, the trans-Tasman bubble is officially open.

The prime ministers of New Zealand and Australia are describing it as a world-leading arrangement that promotes travel between the two countries, without letting covid-19 into the community.

Jacinda Ardern and Scott Morrison say the Pacific Islands are next on the list.

A May bubble is still intended with the Cook Islands but no firm date has been set as yet, Ardern said.

Opening up to the Pacific does not need to be done in lock-step with Australia, Ardern told RNZ Morning Report, because New Zealand has always aimed to have “a country-by-country framework”.

“It’s up to the discretion of each nation.”

Home quarantine?
Morrison has suggested home quarantine for vaccinated travellers could be possible by the end of the year.

The NZ government was sceptical about home quarantine, Ardern said.

Ardern said this country would want to look closely at the research and data around that and the risk of transmission to others.

“Our baseline is to get as many New Zealanders as we can vaccinated to a high degree before we look at opening up to countries that we consider to be higher risk than what we’re doing with Australia,” she said.

“Then there are a range of areas where we’re keeping an open mind but we really want the data to back up what we do.

“At the moment because those who are being vaccinated are not being regularly tested getting that research and data is a little difficult.”

While the chances of passing on Covid-19 were much lower for vaccinated people, more time was needed to establish solid data.

Border in stages
The border would open in stages, Ardern said, and there may be a scenario such as a variant responding less effectively to the vaccine being used here, so there may have to be “different protocols” for people from some parts of the world.

Ardern agreed it was a “very significant day” for New Zealanders.

She said the two countries would not be in this position if both countries had not adopted a strict covid-19 management regime with everyone playing their part.

There will be ups and downs but to have a quarantine-free arrangement with another country: “I don’t know anywhere else in the world that’s doing that so it is a very big day and exciting for family and friends,” Ardern said.

Asked if any decision had been made on allowing flights to resume from India, she said nothing had been decided yet.

The government was mindful of worsening numbers there but also had to be aware of New Zealanders’ rights to come home and not be left stateless.

The government was considering options for tightening up pre-departure testing in India such as reducing the time between the test and flight departure, plus accrediting some laboratories.

Removing inequity
Pre-departure quarantine within India would be very difficult to run, she said, in a country where covid-19 was so rampant.

The announcement by Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi later today was aimed at removing some inequity in the system relating to some migrants whose families had not been able to join them in New Zealand.

“This is us trying to work through an inequity in our system at the moment.”

She said there were spaces within managed isolation and quarantine at present.

While there are estimates that 5000 people are currently separated from their families, the numbers are imprecise in part because some have visas that are expiring, so they no longer qualify to have their families join them.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Although international travel restrictions for Australia have been extended to at least June, there may still be potential for a trans-Tasman bubble with New Zealand (and maybe some other countries), according to reports.

Air New Zealand will begin trialling digital vaccine passports (or “immunity passports”) on routes to Australia in April.

Ideally, these digital certificates will allow authorities to quickly check whether prospective travellers have been vaccinated.

The specific passport system New Zealand is set to adopt — along with Qantas, Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways — is the International Air Transport Association (IATA)‘s digital Travel Pass app.

But to be effective, this system would need to meet several key criteria. The vaccine passports would need to be linked securely to travellers, comply with different countries’ regulations and be almost impossible to illegally copy or modify.

How would it work?
It is expected at least the vast majority of people travelling on an airline using the IATA software will have to use the pass. The system has four steps:

1. a vaccine-recording component for when a person is first vaccinated
2. the transfer of this person’s vaccine-related and personal data to the IATA software
3. verification of the data by an authorised party
4. digital cross-checking, to ensure a government’s travel requirements are applied to all travellers entering or leaving that country. This would also make sure each traveller has the necessary prerequisites needed to enter their destination country.

The software would work by establishing an international network of trusted vaccine providers. The IATA is already compiling this list. These providers, including hospitals and clinics, would receive access to the software’s vaccine-recording component.

With this they woud log information about a patient’s vaccination and identity details (such as passport number). So you would almost certainly need to present a valid passport when getting vaccinated.

For those already vaccinated by the time the system is rolled out, an option would be needed to transfer existing records to the app. Again, this would require confirmation the person requesting the data transfer is the same person who was vaccinated.

Before-departure checks
Once your vaccine and identification details are logged, this would generate a data file to be sent securely to the app’s software. This file would be encrypted and stored on the device itself, only to be retrieved by an authorised person with your consent.

Border and airline staff could check whether the lab identification is valid by comparing it to the IATA’s list of trusted vaccine providers. This check would be done using a wireless near-field communication system, similar to that used for contactless payments.

At this point, the border control unit would also confirm if the identification you presented when getting your vaccine is still valid. They could also check your passport against the national passport database, which is standard procedure.

Such a system could be set up to flag important updates. If a vaccine batch failed quality control, or a certain provider was removed from the approved providers list, this would need to be reflected quickly.

Security advantages of vaccine passports
A notable advantage of vaccine passports is they’re hard to forge compared to paper records. The IATA software would unbreakably link your identification details with your vaccination status.

Even if someone stole your phone or copied its data, this data would match only your passport. If they stole your passport, too, they’d likely still get caught during normal passport checks.

On Apple (iOS) smartphones the in-built “secure enclave” feature would prevent your Travel Pass app information from being moved remotely to another device without the right permissions. Android and other operating systems have similar tools used for smart wallets.

Using vaccine passports also minimises data sharing. In each case of information transaction, such as when crossing border control, the only data shared are your identification details and vaccine information.

An achievable set-up
Most countries are requiring that all covid vaccines administered be recorded on a national register. In Australia, this is the Australian Immunisation Register.

The IATA will publish the Travel Pass app’s software interface, which is what enables other programs to transfer data to and from the software.

With the interface available, countries should be able to simply integrate the software into their own vaccine management systems. Governments could even apply their own rules to the software.

For instance, one may decide to reject vaccine records from a particular provider, or demand a longer waiting period once a vaccine is received.

This could obviously cause problems for travellers who may be planning to go to a destination with different protocols to the origin country. That’s why this would have to be sorted prior to travel, just as visas often are.

Minor issues and loopholes
For now, a digital vaccine passport would only be available for people with a smartphone or tablet. Also, each traveller in a group would need their own vaccine passport.

This could be tricky for families with young children or other dependants who don’t (or can’t) use smart devices. One fix would be for parents or carers to store dependants’ information on their own device.

The only credible route for vaccine passport forgery would be if a vaccination management system, such as one used by a GP or hospital, somehow recorded patient data incorrectly.

This could be done by someone deliberately impersonating someone else. Then again, the impostor would have to convince both the health worker administering their vaccine and staff at the airport. This would be difficult if a passport is used.

Similarly, a hacker could potentially attack the Australian Immunisation Register (or other vaccine registers) to generate false data to feed into the IATA system. But these registries tend to be well-protected.

And if one were compromised, it would be simple to invalidate vaccine certificates tracing back to it for as long as the issue was not resolved.

Dr Dave Parry, professor of computer science, Auckland University of Technology. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Fiji has put its hand up to join New Zealand and Australia’s travel bubble amid the covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

On Friday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she was keen to reopen NZ’s borders with its Pacific island neighbours.

Fiji’s Attorney-General, Aiyaz Saiyed-Khaiyum, said he had discussed his government’s plans with its two major partners in the region.

READ MORE: Eco-tourism major key to ‘tricky’ Pacific economic reset, says Leary

Saiyed-Khaiyum said it was important that New Zealand and Australia understood the “hub status” of Fiji in the Pacific.

“We talked about the travel bubble, the requirements and indeed the time period in which New Zealand is looking at opening up their borders.

“New Zealand’s first priority is obviously Australia. What we did highlight to them is that there needs to be a more nuance approach in terms of dealing with us in the Pacific.”

Saiyed-Khaiyum urged New Zealand and Australia to assess each country individually as the Pacific island states had different experiences, capacities and capabilities of their health system during the pandemic.

Eased travel restrictions when safe
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her Australian counterpart, Scott Morrison, had announced they would ease travel restrictions between the two countries as soon as it was safe to do so.

Ardern said New Zealand was keen to work out post-Covid-19 travel bubble arrangements with Australia first before talking to the Pacific countries.

“New Zealand is keen to reopen borders with its Pacific island neighbours but not just yet.”

But the Fiji government said New Zealand and Australia needed to understand that the Pacific island countries were different from each other.

The Attorney-General said rather than thinking that if they had to open up the bubble, they would need to open up to everybody, New Zealand and Australia could look at how each island country was handling the coronavirus crisis.

Aiyaz Saiyed-Khaiyum said since Fiji’s 18th case was recorded on 21 April, there were no new cases of the virus and only four patients remained isolated in hospital.

“We have been fairly good in terms of the way that we’ve handled the cases relating to Covid-19, in terms of our recovery and the fact that we are one of the few, first countries to close its borders in respect to the high-risk countries, in respect to the cruise liners,” he said.

‘Successful fever clinics’
“We also have these very successful fever clinics that have gone around the country with over 700,000 people tested.

“These things don’t get resolved overnight or decisions made overnight. There are various risks to be considered. In Australia’s cases, they have different states with difference in positions or quarantine requirements in place. But that is something they’ll need to resolve.”

Saiyed-Khaiyum said Fiji had put its hand up to join the travel bubble and it was looking at placing itself “in a more prime position for example the legal frameworks.”

He said if there was protocol developed that if a New Zealander who had to travel to Fiji “then they should perhaps be compulsory temperature testing before they get on the plane from NZ and then they get off, there could be another test here.”

He said a lot of work was needed to be done in these areas including a detailed analysis.

“What happens, for example, if a person does not have a temperature before they leave NZ but when they land in Fiji they do have a temperature? What happens to the airline tickets, what happens to travel insurance? Where do they get kept? If they need to be quarantined, what are the expenses?”

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

By RNZ News

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced late today wide-ranging travel restrictions which mean as of midnight tomorrow anyone coming into New Zealand will have to self-isolate for 14 days.

The only exemption is for people coming from the Pacific islands, but New Zealanders returning from overseas will not be exempt.

The measures will be reviewed in 16 days and the government will provide more advice for self-isolation and an economic package for businesses next week.

READ MORE: Coronavirus – global live updates
READ MORE: Sixth coronavirus case in NZ confirmed

Until now, foreign travellers arriving from mainland China and Iran have been banned from entering the country. Travellers from South Korea and Italy have been asked to self-isolate for two weeks on arrival.

As of midnight Sunday every person arriving will have to isolate themselves for 14 days, Ardern said. That will mean New Zealand will have the strongest restrictions in the world, she said.

She said the measures will be reviewed in 16 days and there will be more measures and advice for self-isolation next week.

All cruise ships are also being asked to not come to New Zealand until June 30. It does not apply to cargo ships.

Handful of cases ‘not realistic’
The prime minister said it is not realistic for New Zealand to only have a handful of Covid-19 cases.

However, “New Zealand has today relative to other countries a small number of cases,” Ardern said.

We have two choices as a nation, Ardern said. One is to let Covid-19 roll on, the other is to go hard on measures to stamp it out. It is in our power to slow it down, she said.

New Zealanders’ public health comes first and this constitutes an unprecedented time.

“Cabinet made far reaching and unprecedented decisions today because these are unprecedented circumstances. As of midnight Sunday every person entering New Zealand, including returning New Zealand citizens and residents, will be required to enter self isolation for 14 days – everybody.

“The Pacific are exempted from this measure, they are the only ones. Anyone from this country though will be required to automatically self isolate should they exhibit any Covid-19 symptoms on arrival in New Zealand. All of these restrictions will be reviewed in 16 days’ time.

“This decision will mean New Zealand will have the widest ranging and toughest border restrictions of any country in the world. We are also encouraging New Zealanders to avoid all non-essential travel overseas – this helps reduce the risk of a New Zealander bringing Covid-19 in.”

Cruise ship directive
In addition to restrictions on air travel, as of midnight today the government is issuing a directive to all cruise ships not to come to New Zealand until at least 30 June at which time the directive will be reviewed – this is for incoming cruise ships.

“It doesn’t apply to cargo ships, marine or air crew, so that sea and air freight can remain open for imports and exports.

She wanted to ensure that essential airfreight such as pharmaceuticals could continue to enter the country.

“We do not take these decisions lightly, we know these travel restrictions will place a significant strain on the aviation industry and we anticipate some routes will reduce or cease for a period of time.”

This article is republished under the Pacific Media Centre’s content partnership with Radio New Zealand.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Sri Krishnamurthi

Former Director of Public Health Dr Colin Tukuitonga says it is incumbent on New Zealand to screen passengers travelling to and from the Pacific Islands thoroughly for the Covid-19 coronavirus.

Coronavirus continues to proliferate rapidly outside China where it originated, topping 90,000 cases and 3000 deaths worldwide.

There was risk of “devastating” the Pacific Islands, just as the measles outbreak did in Samoa last year with 5700 cases of measles and 83 deaths, out of a Samoan population of 200,874.

READ MORE: Coronavirus deaths in US rise to six – latest updates

“As for having something like the measles epidemic in the Islands, for example flights to and from Niue are to New Zealand first, and if New Zealand doesn’t scan all the passengers thoroughly then there is a chance of this virus spreading into the Islands,” Dr Tukuitonga said.

“In public health we use what we call as the precautionary principle where we do not have all the information that we need. The natural history of the coronavirus infection remains unknown.”

Dr Tukuitonga, who is the inaugural associate dean Pacific of Auckland University’s Health and Medical Sciences Faculty, said: “New Zealand doesn’t seem to be as concerned about the assessment and spread of the coronavirus. It has spread very quickly in Italy and South Korea.”

He recalled his time as the chief executive officer of the then Ministry Of Pacific Island Affairs in 2009 when there was an outbreak of influenza A (H1N1) 09, (swine flu) particularly among Pacific people.

No large gatherings
“Someone from the Pacific Media Network interviewed me and I recall I made a statement then that people shouldn’t congregate in large gatherings in the community, and I am of the same view now,” he said.

Minister for Pacific Peoples ‘Aupito William Sio said his advice, posted on social media was: “Not be scared but be prepared”.

“Given Samoa’s warning to our people travelling to Samoa, given coronavirus, what messages can you share with us to help our community?” he asked Dr Neru Leavasa on a Facebook post.

Dr Leavsasa emphasised that prevention was better than a cure approach.

“As a precautionary step, if you are coughing, rather than coughing into your hand, cough into the crook of your elbow, and if you do sneeze then use a tissue and get rid of it and wash your hands.”

The minister was also asked by Mangere-Otahuhu Local Board chair Lemauga Lydia Sosene: “What about large gatherings?”

He replied: “That’s a problem because we love to greet and hug, I’m going to suggest that instead of the greeting, hugging and kissing, that people give a thumbs up, nod and the bent-elbow sign in greeting.”

Close contact warning
Dr Leavasa warned about close contact.

“Yeah, elbow pump, but pretty much no hand contact, if you do then wash your hands for about 20sec,” Dr Leavasa said.

The Minister for Health, David Clark, has told Pacific Media Network it was safe to attend the Pasifika and Polyfest festivals.

“We’re confident at this stage the chance any spread into the community is very low, as long as people take sensible precautions,” Clark said.

Agnes Loheni, the National Party’s associate spokesperson for Pacific people urged caution and for people to be extra vigilant with proper hygiene practices.

“Serious illnesses such as the flu tend to have a worse toll in Māori and Pacific communities, especially if there are other issues such as overcrowded and inadequate housing,” she said.

“The recent measles outbreak in South Auckland showed how quickly highly contagious illness can spread so we need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to minimise the impact of coronavirus” she said.

As of yet, no cases have been recorded in the Pacific Islands.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

By RNZ News

A man has died of the Wuhan coronavirus outside China, and any foreign travellers who leave from or transit through China will be refused entry to New Zealand from tomorrow.

A 44-year-old Chinese man from the city of Wuhan, where the new coronavirus was first detected, died today in hospital in the Philippines, the country’s Department of Health has said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed it is the first death from the virus outside China.

READ MORE: NZ evacuees from Wuhan to be quarantined at Whangaparaoa

The New Zealand government announced at a press conference this afternoon that strict travel restrictions have been introduced in response to the outbreak.

Any foreign travellers on their way to New Zealand when the announcement was made will be subject to increased screening on arrival. If they are cleared, they will be allowed into the country.

New Zealand citizens and permanent residents, and their immediate family, will be allowed to enter the country but will need to isolate themselves for 14 days after arrival.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade has also raised its travel advice for China to “Do not travel”, the highest level.

Public health advice
“Cabinet convened last night to discuss the most up-to-date public health advice, and recent developments in the spread of the virus,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

“We have been advised by health officials that while there are still a range of unknowns in the way the virus is being transmitted, we should take a precautionary approach and temporarily stop travel into New Zealand from mainland China, and of people who have recently been in China.”

She said the measures were critically important to protect New Zealanders, and to play a part in global efforts to contain the virus.

“I am particularly mindful that we are a gateway to the Pacific, and must factor that into our decision making,” Ardern said.

The US and Australia are among other countries who had earlier announced similar restrictions.

“We have been in close contact with our partners in the past 24 hours, and I have spoken on multiple occasions with [Australian] Prime Minister Morrison to ensure we are each aware of any changes to our systems, and the wider impacts given the frequent travel between our two nations,” Ardern said.

“The decision of the US to put in place similar restrictions to those decided by Cabinet has had a knock on effect in terms of travel, leading Air New Zealand and other airlines to stop their flights from China.”

Shanghai route suspended
Air New Zealand has announced it will suspend its Auckland Shanghai route from today until March 29.

Its service departing Shanghai Pudong International Airport shortly after 2pm local time will be the airline’s final flight on this route for two months. Tonight’s Auckland-Shanghai service is cancelled.

Air New Zealand said the suspension was brought forward following the increased border restrictions.

Ministers will be working with industry leaders to try to lessen economic effects of the restrictions, including on tourism, education and the primary sector, Ardern said.

This article is republished under the Pacific Media Centre’s content partnership with Radio New Zealand.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A new visa waiver has been established between the European Union and the Federated States of Micronesia which aims to boost tourism and invigorate business between the two countries.

The short-stay visa allows EU citizens travelling to the territory of the Federated States of Micronesia, and citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia travelling to the EU, to stay for a total of 90-days in any 180-day period.

The short-stay visa was signed between the European Union and the Federated States of Micronesia earlier this week and is already in effect.

In order to benefit from visa-free travel, citizens from the EU and the Federated States of Micronesia must be in possession of a valid ordinary, diplomatic, service/official or special passport.

The Federated States of Micronesia joins Kiribati, Palau, the Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Tonga,Tuvalu and Vanuatu for the visa-free travel to the EU.

Ireland and the United Kingdom are not included in the agreement.