An internal memo dating back to Nov. 12, 2021, from the New Zealand Ministry of Health advised officials that there was no longer any justification to continue the country’s Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ).
The advice from the memo, obtained by RNZ, was not adhered to, with the winding down of the quarantine system beginning three months later on March 10.
The document, written by then-Director of Public Health Caroline McElnay to the Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said the risk of international arrivals transmitting COVID-19 was “no longer higher than the domestic transmission risk.”
McElnay asked Bloomfield if he agreed with the statement, which would mean that “Managed Isolation for border returnees would no longer be justified on public health grounds as the ‘default’ for people travelling to New Zealand.”
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