COVID-19 Border Testing Order w/ Chris Hipkins: November 19, 2020

With COVID still here and Christmas quickly approaching while cases continue to rise across the globe, the government announced this morning a new order that will be put in place. This order is in relation to border testing, where a number of changes will take place. They are:

·        Increasing the frequency of testing for ship pilots and some other port workers who carry out work on affected ships, from fortnightly to weekly,

·        Increasing testing frequency for some workers who carry out work on aircraft that have arrived from outside of New Zealand, from fortnightly to weekly.

·        Mandatory fortnightly testing for port workers not already covered,

·        Mandatory fortnightly testing for airport airside and landside workers not already covered who interact with international arriving or transiting passengers

James spoke to minister in charge of the COVID-19 response, Chris Hipkins, about these changes, and started off by asking about the impact of testing weekly instead of fortnightly