New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Thursday temporarily suspended entry for all travellers from India, including its own citizens, after several of those of who arrived in the country tested positive for the coronavirus, Reuters reported.
The ban will come into effect from April 11 and will be in place till April 28, Adern said.
During this time, the prime minister said, her government will look at risk management measures to resume travel between the two countries.
“This is not a permanent arrangement but rather a temporary measure,” Ardern said, according to The New Zealand Herald. “The temporary hold would also help reduce the risk that travellers themselves faced.”
The travel halt was imposed after 17 of the 23 new Covid-19 cases reported in New Zealand on April 8 had arrived from India.
India is currently seeing a massive second wave of coronavirus infections. On Wednesday, the country recorded 1,15,736 cases of coronavirus cases, the most infections reported in the world in a single day since the pandemic began.
The country’s overall count rose to over 1.28 crore. The toll went up to 1,66,177, with 630 more fatalities reported, while the active caseload stood at 8,43,473.
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