New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern 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.

Ban till April 28

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 Civud-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 travelers 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.

New Zealand has not reported any community transmission locally for about 40 days.

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.