The Government won't force travellers from China to take a COVID-19 test to enter New Zealand as cases there continue to skyrocket.
The Government announced on Wednesday that imposing entry restrictions on travellers from China is "unjustified" and New Zealand will not join other countries in enforcing restrictions.
It comes as Australia announced its move to introduce mandatory COVID-19 testing, joining countries including France, India, Japan, Malaysia, Spain, the Republic of Korea, England and the US.
COVID-19 Response Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall said in a statement there is a minimal public health risk to New Zealand from China arrivals.
"In response, officials have done a public health risk assessment including working through scenarios of potential case numbers among travellers from China. This confirmed these visitors won't contribute significantly to our COVID case numbers meaning entry restrictions aren’t required or justified," Dr Verrall said.
The minister said there is a minimal public health risk to New Zealand since the prevalent COVID-19 variant in Chinda, BF7, hasn't caused significant outbreaks in countries that have already been exposed to the BA5 variant, including New Zealand.
The announcement comes as COVID-19 case numbers in China are thought to be surging.
Last month, China's switch from its "zero-COVID" policy it had maintained for nearly three years led to infections sweeping across the country.
There has been speculation that the number of cases in China is being deliberately underreported, however, the Chinese government has rejected these claims.
Last week, World Health Organization (WHO) officials met with Chinese officials about their recent surge, urging them to share real-time data so other countries could respond effectively.
Dr Verrall said the Government shares the WHO's concerns about the lack of information sharing and will be asking travellers arriving from China to help officials gather more information.
In the coming weeks, the Government will be temporarily emailing a random sample of people who have recently arrived from China to ask them to undertake a RAT test and share that information with health authorities. The test is voluntary and has been used previously during the pandemic and boosted a high uptake from international visitors.
"It is important to note that new COVID variants can arise from across the world, not just China, which is why we’re reminding arrivals from all countries to take the free RATs at the airport and test if they develop symptoms once in New Zealand," Dr Verrall said.
ESR scientists will also conduct a pilot test of wastewater from international flights in the coming weeks and assess the feasibility of this method replacing the targeted and temporary voluntary testing announced on Wednesday.
Dr Verrall also reminds people to remain up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccinations to be best protected against hospitalisation and reduce the risk of severe disease from the virus.
"New Zealand continues to welcome visitors and tourists, and we ask that everyone follows the current public health measures which include staying home if you are unwell and isolating if you test positive for COVID-19," Dr Verrall said.
