New Zealand police have been enlisted to check up on people in self-isolation after some tourists refused to comply with mandatory measures.
Twenty cases of the coronavirus have now been recorded in New Zealand, all of them originating from overseas arrivals into the country.
Jacinda Ardern’s government has imposed strict self-quarantine measures on all arrivals into the country, including New Zealanders, and also asked anyone arriving before the announcement to abide by the same guidelines.
However, some travellers have refused to comply, and at least two tourists have been detained and may be deported.
The ministry of health has asked police to assist with the enforcement and this week officers conducted 50 “compliance visits on a random sample group of travellers”.
In a statement police said the visits involve officers “sighting” those in self-isolation and asking them a series of questions about their wellbeing.
Most people were taking the self-isolation requests seriously, police said.
On Tuesday the ministry of immigration confirmed that two recent arrivals from south-east Asia were refusing to comply with self-isolation measures, and were now liable for deportation.
Stephen Vaughan, the Immigration New Zealand compliance and verification general manager, said: “This kind of behaviour is completely irresponsible and will not be tolerated,”
“They are currently being quarantined. If they fail to depart after quarantine, they will be arrested and detained under the Immigration Act.
“New Zealand is going hard, and going early, to do everything it can to protect New Zealand from Covid-19 and INZ is committed to doing all it can to help protect New Zealand during this uncertain time.”
Despite some experts calling for nationwide school closures, the ministry of education is encouraging parents to continue sending their children to school. Bans on more than 500 people has been enacted, though some churches and student groups have indicated they will ignore the ruling.
Logan Park high school in Dunedin closed for the rest of the week on Wednesday after a student tested positive for the virus, with 150 “close contacts” of the student now being tested.
Panic-buying and social unrest as seen in other countries has so far been absent in New Zealand, though stocks of some everyday items such as toilet paper, bread and hand sanitizer are low or sold-out in many supermarkets around the country.
Earlier today the ministry of foreign affairs and trade urged all New Zealanders travelling overseas to make urgent plans to return home, as commercial flights may soon became severely limited or unavailable.
One New Zealander at Heathrow airport in the UK reported scenes of panic and distress as their compatriots urgently tried to book seats on an ever-dwindling number of flights.
Winston Peters, the foreign minister, said around 80,000 New Zealanders were registered as travelling overseas, and not all of them would be able to make it home.
