Tag Archives: Explorer

New Zealand

Covid 19 coronavirus: Tourists from Brisbane are urged to monitor health after green zone breaches | Instant News


New Zealand’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout is three percent ahead of schedule, except in Northland where a huge push to use available vaccines is ongoing.

People arriving in New Zealand from Brisbane are required to monitor their health for the next 14 days following a green zone breach reported at Brisbane Airport.

The incident took place at the Hudson Cafe where two people from the red zone country were at the cafe along with green zone passengers.

The Queensland Health Authority said the couple had transited from a flight from Papua New Guinea and had been inadvertently directed to the terminal’s green departure zone.

“They were in the green zone for about two hours with other passengers leaving for New Zealand,” said a statement.

New Zealand’s Ministry of Health said the risk was low.

New Zealand health officials understand the two red zone passengers returned negative Covid-19 tests before they left PNG.

Queensland Health told the ministry that the passengers had been wearing masks, kept their distance and were not showing symptoms.

The second test of swabs taken yesterday showed a weak positive for one test and negative for the other.

Papua New Guinea was last week considered a “very high risk” country by the New Zealand Government; meaning that only citizens and their immediate family can return here.

The island nation has seen a spike in Covid-19 cases recently; with the official number stands at 10,915 cases and 107 deaths like last night.

The three flights affected were NZ202 from Brisbane to Christchurch yesterday, NZ146 which landed in Auckland and Qantas flight 135 which arrived in Christchurch.

Passengers on all three flights have been informed of potential violations and given advice on monitoring their health over the next two weeks, the ministry said.

Quarantine-free travel between New Zealand and Australia begins, Auckland Airport. Photo / Michael Craig
Quarantine-free travel between New Zealand and Australia begins, Auckland Airport. Photo / Michael Craig

In a statement, the Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) issued an apology saying the violation was “due to human error”.

“At around 9.30am, two transit passengers arrived on the ‘red’ flight from Port Moresby and proceeded to check for transit like a normal process.

A preliminary view of CCTV showed that red zone passengers were allowed into the green zone at 9:55 am, spending less than two hours there before they were found by Brisbane Airport staff and returned to the red zone.

“Passengers sit at retail outlets in the green zone until around 11:20 am.”

Hundreds of passengers are on flights to NZ, but only a few are in the same area

The passengers had also visited the bathroom and gone to other retail stores before they were found by airport staff and returned to the red zone area of ​​the terminal.

People traveling from Brisbane to New Zealand yesterday were urged to monitor their health following a green zone breach at Brisbane Airport.
People traveling from Brisbane to New Zealand yesterday were urged to monitor their health following a green zone breach at Brisbane Airport.

BAC said all workers and passengers in green areas were wearing PPE and all areas of interest had been thoroughly cleaned.

There are about 390 passengers on flights to New Zealand, with only a handful believed to be in the same area as the red zone passengers at the same time, BAC said.

At this stage, it is believed that only a handful of passengers will be around the two passengers at any one time.

Queensland’s chief health officer Jeannette Young said the two passengers were a low risk to other passengers.

“They are in the wrong zone through no fault of their own and we appreciate their patience and cooperation while we rule them out as cases.

“We are also grateful for the swift action by the Brisbane Airport staff after the fault was identified.”

Passengers arriving from Brisbane who develop symptoms or would like more information about the Covid-19 test can contact Healthline: 0800 611 116

– with RNZ

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Australia

Coronavirus cases have increased by nine in South Australia, as the Adelaide Oval will reach full capacity | Instant News


South Australia has recorded nine new COVID-19 cases, all of which were returned by tourists who were quarantined at hotels-medi.

Health authorities say the new cases bring the total number of active cases in the state to 30 – the highest since the Parafield cluster in November, when the country was forced into lockdown.

“That’s a very high number. They have all just arrived overseas at our hotel medi,” said Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier.

Today’s cases include a teenage girl, a man in their 30s and a woman and three men in their 40s.

There are also two other teens and a woman in her 50s who have tested positive, but they are considered old infections.

“Of the nine, three will be classified as histories – they have never been diagnosed before – which is why they are still being added to our numbers in South Australia,” said Professor Spurrier.

He said the increase had made him and other health staff “nervous”, and their priority was protecting the country from another outbreak.

Two people with COVID-19 remain in hospital, and both are in stable condition.

“We need to ensure that all our processes in our quarantine stream and our hotel medias are as strict as possible,” said Professor Spurrier.

He reminded people to continue to take precautions against the spread of the coronavirus, and called on all eligible people to make efforts to get vaccinated.

Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier said the increase in cases had made his staff nervous.(

ABC News

)

The South Australian Government has also announced it will allow the Adelaide Oval to return to full capacity from 8 May.

That means it will be able to have a full crowd for the AFL Showdown between the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide.

“Footy fans will be able to attend the Showdown at full capacity at the Adelaide Oval,” said Prime Minister Steven Marshall.

“I know they’ve been waiting for this for a very, very long time.”

Professor Spurrier said he was confident “about the safety of the set-up” at the Adelaide Oval, after consulting stadium management.

Spectators will be required to wear masks when entering from their seats or moving around the stadium.

Brisbane players celebrate goals on the AFL pitch
Thousands of fans recently attended the AFLW grand final at the Adelaide Oval, where the Brisbane Lions triumphed.(

AAP: Matt Turner

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Professor Spurrier said this meant the high number of active cases in the state medi-hotel Tom’s Court close to capacity.

He said SA Health was in talks with state and federal governments about potential solutions, including imposing tighter limits on the number of arrivals.

“We are looking very carefully at our Tom’s Court capacity … we feel we are approaching capacity on our concerns around safety,” said Professor Spurrier.

“The first step is to look at the number of people coming to our state and we have conversations with the Prime Minister and also with the Commonwealth about it.”

About 88 percent of South Australian mid-sized hotel staff have so far been vaccinated.

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Can people who are vaccinated still transmit the virus?

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uk

Iran – JCPoA – Statement by Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France, Germany and the UK (14 April 2021) | Instant News


The governments of France, Germany and the UK (E3) noted with great concern the announcement by Iran that they would begin enriching uranium to 60% using state-of-the-art centrifuges when Iran communicated with the IAEA on April 13.

This is a serious development because the production of enriched uranium is an important step in the production of nuclear weapons. Iran does not have a credible civilian need for enrichment at this level.

We also expressed our concern over the news that Iran plans to install an additional 1000 centrifuges at Natanz, which will significantly increase Iran’s enrichment capacity.

Iran’s announcements are particularly regrettable considering they come at a time when all JCPoA participants and the United States have begun substantive discussions, with the aim of finding a swift diplomatic solution to revitalizing and restoring JCPoA. Iran’s recent malicious communications run counter to the constructive spirit and good faith of these discussions.

In light of recent developments, we reject all escalation measures by any actor, and we call on Iran not to complicate the diplomatic process.

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uk

All clear for travelers from Saudi Arabia as UK added 4 more countries including Pakistan to the ‘red list’ | Instant News


Saudi Gazette Report

JEDDAH – Britain on Friday added Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan and the Philippines to its travel “red list” as travelers from Saudi Arabia continue to enter the country indefinitely.

The updated “red list”, which will take effect April 9 at 4 a.m., includes the following countries:

Angola, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Burundi, Cape Verde, Chilean Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Swaziland, Ethiopia, French Guiana, Guyana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Oman, Pakistan, Panama , Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Suriname, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

According to UK government guidelines, visitors arriving from destinations on the “red list” are not allowed to enter the country while UK or Irish citizens or those with residency rights need to self-quarantine in government-approved hotels for 10 days.

“Four countries have been added to the ‘red list’ to protect countries from the new variant of the coronavirus (COVID-19), at a critical time for the vaccine program,” the government said in a press statement Friday morning.

“With more than 30 million vaccinations delivered in the UK so far, the additional restrictions will help reduce the risk of new variants – such as those first identified in South Africa (SA) and Brazil – entering the UK. So far, surveillance has found that several cases of the SA variant have been identified as imported from Europe, with most coming from other parts of the world, “the statement added.

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uk

United Kingdom – Meeting between M. Franck Riester and Minister of Foreign Affairs for International Trade (29 March 2021)) | Instant News


M. Franck Riester, Minister for the Delegation of Foreign Trade and Economic Appeal, attached to the Ministers of Europe and Foreign Affairs, will meet on Monday, 29 March with Elizabeth Truss, the UK’s Foreign Minister for International Trade.

The ministerial delegation and Elizabeth Truss will discuss joint actions to be taken to strengthen the multilateral trading system, particularly in the framework of the G7 trade ministers meeting which will be held via video conference on March 31 under the British presidency.

The ministers will also discuss certain bilateral issues such as the situation of International Volunteers in Business (VIEs), in the context of effective Brexit implementation.

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