No clear communication about India removal from ‘very high-risk’ list
On November 24, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced that the 'very high-risk' classification for Indonesia, Fiji, India, Pakistan, and Brazil would be removed in early December.
The news was welcomed by Kiwi Indians who were waiting for this announcement. That’s because due to India being a very high-risk country, only New Zealand citizens and their immediate families could travel to NZ from India.
And all others, including NZ residents and permanent residents, had to spend 14 days in a ‘green zone’ country before traveling to NZ. But according to the announcement, residents would not have to spend a fortnight in a green zone country before travelling to New Zealand. It did bring relief to many who want to travel from India or travel from New Zealand to India and then come back to NZ.
On April 23 this year, the NZ government announced the introduction of a new category of a "very high-risk country" - including India, Brazil, Pakistan, and Papua New Guinea - to further bolster the country's defence against Covid-19. It came into effect at 11.59 pm on April 28. On August 11, Indonesia and Fiji were added to the list.
However, no clear communication was given by the Minister on November 24 about when India, along with other countries, will be removed from the list. Minister Hipkins only confirmed that Indonesia, Fiji, India, Pakistan, and Brazil would be removed from high-risk designation from early December.
When Indian Weekender contacted Chris Hipkins’ office to find out, we were informed via email that India is no longer in the very high-risk country list “since November 29”. According to the list published on https://covid19.govt.nz/, Brazil, Fiji, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan are no longer designated as very high risk.
Interestingly when Indian Weekender contacted travel agents to find out whether they had received official communication from the government about removing India from the list, they said they had no official communication.
Mukesh Mann of Mann Travels said, "As a travel agent, we haven't got any formal communication from the government that India is no longer very high risk and that since when it was removed from the list. This government clearly lacks the art of communicating clearly and due to that most of the confusion arises. I am sure the general public who want to travel to India will still not 100 percent know that India has already been removed.”
Another travel agent Navdeep Kataria of Indo Kiwi Travel Limited, also feels that it would be great if the information related to travel changes could be directly provided to travel agents to inform their customers better. "In the Covid times that we live in and the emergence of new variants, travel situation across the globe is changing rapidly. Therefore, it is sometimes difficult to keep up with the travel restrictions changing globally.
“I believe the NZ government should create a login for travel agents on the MIQ website where travel agents can register, and then they can be given up-to-date information in their emails. This will help us to provide the most accurate information to our clients and will save the confusion that arises when no clear communication is given,” he said.
On November 24, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced that the 'very high-risk' classification for Indonesia, Fiji, India, Pakistan, and Brazil would be removed in early December.
The news was welcomed by Kiwi Indians who were waiting for this announcement. That’s because due to India...
On November 24, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced that the 'very high-risk' classification for Indonesia, Fiji, India, Pakistan, and Brazil would be removed in early December.
The news was welcomed by Kiwi Indians who were waiting for this announcement. That’s because due to India being a very high-risk country, only New Zealand citizens and their immediate families could travel to NZ from India.
And all others, including NZ residents and permanent residents, had to spend 14 days in a ‘green zone’ country before traveling to NZ. But according to the announcement, residents would not have to spend a fortnight in a green zone country before travelling to New Zealand. It did bring relief to many who want to travel from India or travel from New Zealand to India and then come back to NZ.
On April 23 this year, the NZ government announced the introduction of a new category of a "very high-risk country" - including India, Brazil, Pakistan, and Papua New Guinea - to further bolster the country's defence against Covid-19. It came into effect at 11.59 pm on April 28. On August 11, Indonesia and Fiji were added to the list.
However, no clear communication was given by the Minister on November 24 about when India, along with other countries, will be removed from the list. Minister Hipkins only confirmed that Indonesia, Fiji, India, Pakistan, and Brazil would be removed from high-risk designation from early December.
When Indian Weekender contacted Chris Hipkins’ office to find out, we were informed via email that India is no longer in the very high-risk country list “since November 29”. According to the list published on https://covid19.govt.nz/, Brazil, Fiji, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan are no longer designated as very high risk.
Interestingly when Indian Weekender contacted travel agents to find out whether they had received official communication from the government about removing India from the list, they said they had no official communication.
Mukesh Mann of Mann Travels said, "As a travel agent, we haven't got any formal communication from the government that India is no longer very high risk and that since when it was removed from the list. This government clearly lacks the art of communicating clearly and due to that most of the confusion arises. I am sure the general public who want to travel to India will still not 100 percent know that India has already been removed.”
Another travel agent Navdeep Kataria of Indo Kiwi Travel Limited, also feels that it would be great if the information related to travel changes could be directly provided to travel agents to inform their customers better. "In the Covid times that we live in and the emergence of new variants, travel situation across the globe is changing rapidly. Therefore, it is sometimes difficult to keep up with the travel restrictions changing globally.
“I believe the NZ government should create a login for travel agents on the MIQ website where travel agents can register, and then they can be given up-to-date information in their emails. This will help us to provide the most accurate information to our clients and will save the confusion that arises when no clear communication is given,” he said.
Leave a Comment