People granted compassionate travel exemption now required to test negative for Covid-19 before leaving managed isolation

The move comes after two women arriving from the UK tested positive for Covid-19 after travelling from Auckland to Wellington for a funeral.

People granted compassionate travel exemptions will now be required to test negative for Covid-19 before leaving managed isolation, Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield announced this afternoon.

The move comes after two women arriving from the UK tested positive for Covid-19 this morning after travelling from Auckland to Wellington for a funeral.

Both women arrived in New Zealand together on June 7 and stayed in managed isolation in the Novotel Ellerslie hotel in Auckland.

They were permitted on compassionate grounds to travel to Wellington in a private vehicle on June 13 for the funeral of one of their parents.

The women only applied for the exemption on compassionate grounds on June 12.

Dr Bloomfield says they “may have thought they had more time” but their loved one died Friday night.

The exemption process was “expedited” so that the women could travel to Wellington the next day.

Both women were tested in Wellington at a drive-through testing centre.

They had no contact with anyone on their drive from Auckland to Wellington and didn't use any public toilet facilities on the way down, with Dr Bloomfield simply saying "there is a lot of empty roadside on the trip down".

As a result of the new cases, Dr Bloomfield says there has been a change to the rules.

If people are granted an exemption on compassionate grounds they now need to have a negative test before they are allowed to leave managed isolation.

The two women from the same family recently arrived in the country from the UK.

He said the only person at risk from the pair was the family member who was in close contact with them.

The two new cases breaks a 24-day streak without any new cases, and a seven-day streak without any active cases in the country.


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