Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has assured New Zealand won’t shut its borders completely, amid calls from some members of the public to do so after a Covid-19 case was reported in Northland yesterday.
In a Facebook live last night, Ardern said: “Any time we have a situation like this we will have people who will say, just shut the borders entirely, don’t let anyone in.
The list includes cafes, restaurants and shops in Whangārei, Ruakaka and Helensville.
“We can’t do that. As a New Zealand citizen you have a right to come back to New Zealand and if we denied you the right to come back to New Zealand we would be making you stateless, we would be saying that the one legal place that you can live, you can’t come back to.
“You will notice that virtually no country in the world is closing its border to its citizens.”
She also said blaming a person with Covid-19 wouldn’t help anyone.
“There is sometimes a tendency to blame. The message I really want to share here is the most important thing for us is that people when they are unwell get tested,” Ardern said.
“And they are less likely to do that if they feel like they will be attacked if they test positive.”
Yesterday, the Ministry of Health confirmed it was investigating a case involving a woman who tested positive for Covid-19 in the Northland community.
The 56-year-old woman completed a 14-day stay in managed isolation at the Pullman Hotel in Auckland on January 13, after travelling back to New Zealand from Europe.
Health officials said the woman had reported experiencing Covid-19 symptoms following her stay.
The Ministry of Health has released details of her movements from January 14, up until January 22.
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