Experts are warning New Zealand is not prepared for a global pandemic, and the country needs to be able to close its borders quickly if one hits.
Researchers have been studying the benefits of closing New Zealand's doors, and comparing them to the consequences such as loss of tourism.
They found hundreds of lives could be saved and the positives outweigh the negatives.
"There are also huge economical benefits to New Zealand by doing this, of $8 billion to $144 billion," says University of Otago researcher Michael Baker.
"We could have pandemic influenza again, we could have something like SARS which is more infectious and spreads globally, we could have a new bio-weapon for example," he says.
The Ministry of Health says it does have a pandemic plan which considers different border options, but experts say there needs to be specific legislation to allow authorities to shut the doors within a day.
GP and immunisation expert, Dr Nikki Turner, says it's important to act quickly.
"At the start of a pandemic, in the early days we generally don't know how severe it is. At that point you need to act. If you wait and do nothing in the early days, it's too late," she says.
Ms Turner says closing the borders is no easy task.
"The world is interconnected so it's a huge challenge to consider exactly how you would effectively shut the borders.".
However, it's a challenge experts say is worth thinking about now.
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