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Travellers from the UK have brought coronavirus back to New Zealand 24 days after the last confirmed case

Date:

  • New Zealand has recorded its first positive cases of COVID-19 in 24 days.
  • Two women who traveled to New Zealand from the UK to see a dying relative tested positive for the virus..
  • New Zealand has strict border controls in place and had given the women special permission to enter.
  • Its prime minister Jacdina Ardern last week said the country had eliminated the coronavirus.
  • However, the virus is still widespread in the UK, with the nation still following lockdown measures.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Two women who traveled to New Zealand from the United Kingdom earlier this month have become the country’s first positive cases of COVID-19 over three weeks after it was eradicated in the country.

The women, who are part of the same family, tested positive for the coronavirus in Wellington, the country’s capital, after traveling to New Zealand to visit a dying relative, the BBC reports.

One woman is in her 30s and the other in her 40s. It is not known whether they are UK citizens, the report adds.

New Zealand is seen as having led the way in its response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Its prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, last week announced that the government had eliminated the virus, after successfully reducing the number of confirmed cases to zero, and moved to remove all national lockdown measures.

22 people in New Zealand have died after catching COVID-19, which is much lower than most other countries.

However, strict border controls remain in place in the country, with people who aren’t New Zealand citizens or essential workers not allowed in, unless they have exceptional circumstances.

Doctor Ashley Bloomfield, New Zealand’s Director-General of Health, said there was an “agreed plan in place” to let the two women from the UK enter New Zealand in order to see their dying relative, the BBC reports.

The two women arrived in the city of Auckland on June 7 and quarantined there until securing permission to travel to Wellington on June 13. Their relative passed away on June 12.

While staying in Wellington with a relative, one of the women reported having mild COVID-19 symptoms.

The pair both tested positive for the illness on Tuesday.

Unlike New Zealand, the UK continues to follow lockdown measures, with over a thousand new confirmed cases of the virus on Monday. The UK’s the death toll was 41,786 as of Tuesday morning, making it one of the world’s biggest.

Boris Johnson’s UK government is hoping to agree “travel corridors” with other countries in order to let people in Britain holiday in other countries, and vice versa.

However, some countries are reluctant to form corridors with the UK while the virus is so prominent in the country.

Last week, the Slovakian government opened its borders to arrivals from 16 countries deemed safe. However, the UK was not included, and arrivals from there will have to quarantine and take a coronavirus test.

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Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/new-zealand-first-new-coronavirus-cases-24-days-from-uk-2020-6

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