“New COVID-19 Response Minister Ayesha Verrall’s expected announcement that pre-departure testing will be gone next week is the kind of common-sense practicality the role needs, more please,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“Pre-departure testing has long passed its use-by date. ACT called for it to go a month ago but just like with MIQ, scanning, and the whole Traffic Light System, the Government is a bit slow to catch on.

“Yesterday we asked the Government “What is the point of pre-departure testing for people entering New Zealand? Is it justified by the reduction in case numbers (if reducing case numbers is still our goal)? If not, we should dump it immediately. Doing it arbitrarily until the end of July is an insulting waste of everyone’s time.”

“Verrall is off to a good start dumping rules that don’t make sense, and while she is loosening the Government’s vice-like grip on our lives, there are a couple other things she should do.

“As ACT said yesterday, the new COVID-19 Response Minister needs to state what the goals of the COVID response actually are. Is it to reduce cases, slow the spread, protect the hospitals from overflow, reduce deaths? It’s no longer clear why we even have the portfolio.

“She should also review if our current isolation rules are efficient. Like Singapore, ACT called for this in our Move On paper back in February.

“Isolation rules matter because they are wreaking havoc through the community and economy. I talk to principals who have lost a teacher for two weeks thanks to being a household contact then getting infected themselves. Workers are taken out of circulation despite being infectious for only a few days. It’s nuts.

“Seven-day isolation is simply too long if you’ve tested negative, businesses can’t afford to keep carrying the can as they battle huge staff shortages due to massive isolation periods.

“Hipkins has been asleep at the COVID wheel. Verrall’s appointment is a great opportunity. She needs to dump unworkable isolation rules along with pre-departure testing. Then she needs to reset our COVID strategy with a clear statement of what it is. Knowing what the strategy is would make COVID decisions much easier.”

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