WELLINGTON: New Zealand marked 100 days without a domestic transmission of the coronavirus on Sunday, but warned against complacency as countries like Vietnam and Australia which once had the virus under control now battle a resurgence in infections.
New Zealand’s successful fight against COVID-19 has made the Pacific island nation of 5 million one of the safest places in the world right now.
New Zealanders have returned to normal life, but authorities are concerned that people were now refusing testing, not using the government contact tracing apps, and even ignoring basic hygiene rules.
“Achieving 100 days without community transmission is a significant milestone, however, as we all know, we can’t afford to be complacent,” Director-General of Health Dr. Ashley Bloomfield said.
“We have seen overseas how quickly the virus can re-emerge and spread in places where it was previously under control, and we need to be prepared to quickly stamp out any future cases in New Zealand,” he said.
New Zealand has 23 active cases in managed isolation facilities, and 1,219 COVID-19 cases in all so far.
Vietnam, which went for three months without detecting any domestic transmission, is now racing to control a new outbreak in Danang.
Neighbouring Australia’s second-biggest city, Melbourne, has gone into a six week lockdown due to a surge in cases. The second wave of cases in Melbourne has been largely a result of lapses in quarantining.
“For countries like Australia and New Zealand the source of such outbreaks is likely to be from managed isolation and quarantine facilities because of the large numbers of people held there and the multiple shifts of staff involved in looking after them,” said Michael Baker, Professor of Public Health at the University of Otago.
There have been cases of returning New Zealanders sneaking out of quarantine, and other security slip ups.
New Zealand last week ramped up testing at quarantine facilities and clinics, and started work on technology to track people using Bluetooth technology.
Ardern kicked off her re-election campaign on Saturday calling it a ‘Covid election’.
But a resurgence of cases due to “Covid fatigue” could spark a backlash against her, and give the opposition a chance to work their way back into the election contest. (Repotring by Praveen Menon; Editing by Michael Perry)
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New Zealand records 100 days without domestic virus case but warns against complacency
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New Zealand records 100 days without domestic virus case but warns against complacency
- New Zealanders have returned to normal life, but authorities are concerned that people were now refusing testing
- New Zealand has 23 active cases in managed isolation facilities, and 1,219 COVID-19 cases in all so far
Heathrow airport sees record high annual passenger numbers
LONDON: Heathrow Airport said Monday it welcomed more than 84 million travelers last year, a record high amount for the London hub which is set to undergo a major expansion.
The annual update comes as Heathrow — Europe’s busiest airport by passenger numbers in 2024 — starts work on a new runway to “unlock even more of that connectivity, trade and economic growth for the UK,” the airport’s chief executive Thomas Woldbye said in a statement.
Istanbul airport last week disclosed that it welcomed 84.4 million passengers in 2025, just below Heathrow’s figure of 84.5 million.
Heathrow said almost 7.2 million passengers traveled through the hub last month, its highest number on record for the month of December.
The airport in August unveiled a £49-billion ($66-billion) expansion plan, including the cost of building a long-awaited third runway, approved by the UK government after years of legal wrangling.
The works will increase capacity to up to 150 million passengers per year, according to Heathrow.
It would be a rare expansion in Europe, where countries are split between efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the needs of a strategic sector that has seen demand soar since the Covid-era lockdowns.
The runway would cost £21 billion, with flights expected to take off within a decade, while the rest of the privately-funded investment will go toward expanding and modernizing the airport.
The annual update comes as Heathrow — Europe’s busiest airport by passenger numbers in 2024 — starts work on a new runway to “unlock even more of that connectivity, trade and economic growth for the UK,” the airport’s chief executive Thomas Woldbye said in a statement.
Istanbul airport last week disclosed that it welcomed 84.4 million passengers in 2025, just below Heathrow’s figure of 84.5 million.
Heathrow said almost 7.2 million passengers traveled through the hub last month, its highest number on record for the month of December.
The airport in August unveiled a £49-billion ($66-billion) expansion plan, including the cost of building a long-awaited third runway, approved by the UK government after years of legal wrangling.
The works will increase capacity to up to 150 million passengers per year, according to Heathrow.
It would be a rare expansion in Europe, where countries are split between efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the needs of a strategic sector that has seen demand soar since the Covid-era lockdowns.
The runway would cost £21 billion, with flights expected to take off within a decade, while the rest of the privately-funded investment will go toward expanding and modernizing the airport.
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