Some Kiwis returning to New Zealand say getting pre-departure Covid-19 tests is making the process too difficult, but one legal expert says the rules are fair and are probably going to get even tougher.
Jocelyn Trezise is coming home from England after 12 weeks looking after her grandchildren.
“That's been lovely I don't regret coming at all.”
She is one of the first Kiwis requiring a negative Covid test before she leaves, a challenge to organise during lockdown.
“The hardest bit was actually finding someone in Kent who would do the pre-flight Covid test."
It's sorted now and a clear result will see Trezise heading home, but in the US the new rules have forced Katie Anzemli to delay her trip home.
“Formerly I was home four or five times a year and my mum would be up here about three times a year, so it's been a really big adjustment for us,” she said.
“Right now there's a lot of processes in place, the goalposts seem to be constantly changing as well.”
Bill Hodge from Auckland University Law School says the additional measures may be inconvenient but they're not unreasonable.
“On one hand they have a 'quote' right to return home that's in the Bill of Rights, but on the other hand like every other right in the Bill of Rights, it's subject to reasonable limits,” he said.
“I think it's an inconvenience like wearing a seatbelt, not smoking in a pub, wearing a helmet when you ride a bicycle.”
The seven new cases in managed isolation in the last two days from Russia, India, the US and Puerto Rico has Dr Ashley Bloomfield reiterating the importance of the Covid tracer app.
"We can't afford to get complacent, we've seen how quickly the virus can spread," he said.
"It's incredibly important we all scan QR codes, the more we all scan, the safer we'll be."
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