from CEO Stephen England-Hall
“You will have no doubt heard the announcement this afternoon from the government regarding the temporary entry restrictions on all foreign nationals travelling from, or transiting through, mainland China to assist with the containment of the novel coronavirus.
The announcement also follows MFAT raising its travel advice for mainland China to ‘do not travel’. The restrictions will take effect from tomorrow and will be in place for up to 14 days, with review every 48 hours. It follows a decision from Australia to change its border stance yesterday.
As you can imagine, the decision for the government was not made lightly and with the health and safety of New Zealanders in mind alongside New Zealand taking action to play our part to try and combat the virus.
That being said we understand that for industry this is undoubtedly an extremely challenging time.
The PM has said “The Cabinet is acutely aware of the economic impact of the virus, including on tourism, the primary sector and education. I have asked Ministers to make contact with industry leaders to mitigate some of these impacts as much as possible.”
This is encouraging to hear and will no doubt give you some confidence.
Tourism New Zealand is providing advice to government about the role we can play in supporting industry and stimulating markets in response to the events.
We continue to work closely with government, the sector and our offshore teams to analyse the impact. Your ongoing feedback as industry leaders is extremely helpful, so please keep this coming through so we can pass it on.
Tomorrow we will be sending a communication to wider industry about the entry restriction announcement and also inviting them to attend a webinar on Wednesday where we can provide them with an update on what we know so far and give them opportunity to ask any questions.
In the meantime please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.”
You can read the governments press release about the temporary entry restrictions here.
Coronavirus: Important Information
Health advice
Latest update from Ministry of Health
The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed there are currently no confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV in New Zealand, but the likelihood of importing a case remains high.
“The risk of an ongoing outbreak in New Zealand remains low, but the MOH is monitoring the situation closely,” said the latest MOH status update.
If you or your customers become ill, please call the Ministry of Health Healthline on 0800 611 116.
Latest Situation Report from Word Health Organization
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the main clinical signs and symptoms reported in this outbreak include fever and difficulty in breathing. As of 27 January, human-to-human transmission has been confirmed largely in Wuhan city, but also some other places in China and internationally.
WHO basic principles to reduce risk of infection transmission:
• Avoiding close contact with people suffering from acute respiratory infections
• Frequent hand-washing, especially after direct contact with ill people or their environment
• Avoiding unprotected contact with farm or wild animals
• People with symptoms of acute respiratory infection should practice cough etiquette (maintain distance, cover coughs and sneezes with disposable tissues or clothing, and wash hands)
Within healthcare facilities, enhance standard infection prevention and control practices in hospitals, especially in emergency departments
