NZ temporarily suspends travel from India to combat surge in COVID-19 infected travellers: PM Ardern
Melbourne/Wellington: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Thursday announced that New Zealand will temporarily suspend the entry for all travellers, including its citizens, from India for about two weeks from April 11 due to a surge in COVID-19 cases among visitors to this country.
The ban will begin on Sunday and will remain in place until April 28, she said.
While arrivals from India had triggered the risk assessment, Prime Minister Ardern said the Government would be looking at risks posed by other COVID-19 hotspot countries, the New Zealand Herald reported.
The travel restriction comes after New Zealand recorded 23 new positive coronavirus cases in managed isolation on Thursday, of which 17 came from India, the report added.
"This is not a permanent arrangement but rather a temporary measure," Ardern said, adding that the temporary hold would also help reduce the risk that travellers themselves faced.
The ban covers all travellers, including New Zealand citizens and permanent residents.
While there have been previous travel bans on travellers from some countries, New Zealand has never suspended travel to New Zealand citizens and residents, Ardern said, adding that she absolutely understands the difficulty that this temporary suspension will cause for Kiwis in India.
But I also feel a sense of responsibility and obligation to find ways to reduce risks that travellers are experiencing, she said. Health teams would use the time until April 28 to try and plan safer ways to accept travellers from India.
But there were no guarantees officials would come up with a better solution, she said.
"We haven't identified anything obvious ... but we have to try and do better," Ardern said.
She wanted to look at the quality of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) COVID-19 testing in other countries and whether tests were being taken in the 72 hours before departure.
New Zealand has not reported any community transmission locally for about 40 days.
COVID-19 cases were spiking again, particularly in India and Brazil, and New Zealand was not immune, Ardern said.
The government had been reviewing its border settings in recent weeks, Ardern said, adding that ultimately New Zealand wanted to see fewer cases arriving in the country.
COVID-19 cases in India hit a record high. India recorded 1,12,389 new cases on Wednesday, according to a PTI tally, taking the overall count to 1,29,14,174. The single-day rise in coronavirus cases breached the one-lakh mark for the third time in four days. India saw a record daily rise on Tuesday, with over 1.15 lakh new infections.
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Madhavi Latha files complaint against Owaisi for 'Beef Zindabad' remarks
Hyderabad: K. Madhavi Latha, the BJP candidate contesting for Hyderabad MP, has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission of India (ECI) against Asaduddin Owaisi, the AIMIM chief and sitting MP, for allegedly making provocative comments during an election campaign in the old city.
In her complaint, Madhavi Latha stated that Owaisi had encouraged a butcher to continue his job, saying 'kaat te raho' (continue cutting) and also uttered the words 'beef zindabad' (long live beef).
The incident reportedly occurred during Owaisi's election campaign in the old city. Madhavi Latha's complaint highlighted that these comments were seen as encouraging the consumption of beef, which could be viewed as against the sentiments of the majority community and could be seen as an attempt to provoke and appease a particular community for electoral gains.
"As a contesting candidate of the Hyderabad Parliamentary constituency, I request your good offices to take immediate action against Owaisi for violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and to restrain him and his followers from stirring communal issues and hatred against another community to ensure fair and peaceful elections in the sensitive constituency," Madhavi Latha stated in her complaint.
