Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during the post-Cabinet media conference at Parliament today. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during the post-Cabinet media conference at Parliament today. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The Government has seen "no evidence" of people using fake Covid-19 tests to get into New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says.
But Act leader David Seymour is questioning that claim.
"There will be people that try to defraud any system," he said, adding that New Zealand's pre-departure testing rules would be no exception.
This comes as University of Auckland microbiologist Dr Siouxsie Wiles this morning revealed she has been made aware of someone who was offered a fake negative pre-departure test certificate for a fee.
"Someone got in touch with me to tell me a relative of theirs had been offered one in France but declined."
She had "no doubt" that people overseas will be offering fake negative pre-departure tests to people wanting to travel to New Zealand.
Epidemiologist Dr Michael Baker was sounding a similar warning.
Wiles' comments were sparked after Ministry of Health data revealed a significant number of people travelling to New Zealand have tested positive for Covid-19 on day 0/1.
This is despite the Government requiring a pre-departure test to come back negative before anyone gets on a plane bound for New Zealand.
Speaking to media this afternoon, Ardern poured cold water over the fake-testing theory. "We haven't seen evidence of fraud when it comes to providing testing data at the border."
But she pointed out that the rules state people need a test before they come to New Zealand, meaning there is a 72-hour period where travellers can still come in contact with Covid-19.
"What seems to be the case at the moment is we have some countries where outbreaks are significant and after people are being tested pre-departure they're becoming sick."
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health said that when the pre-departure testing regime started, officials determined it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to validate pre-departure test results.
This is because they come from a wider range of countries and in a wide range of forms.
"This means if fraudulent test results are used, they are challenging to detect and very difficult to enforce."
Earlier today, the Ministry of Health revealed there were 11 new cases in MIQ – all had travelled from India and all tested positive for Covid-19 on day 0/1.
Of the new cases announced today, 10 arrived from India on the same flight via the United Arab Emirates on Saturday – Ardern said the Government will be "asking questions" around this.
These will include: "Are airlines checking for symptoms?" and "Are we seeing the checks on the pre-departure tests that we expect?".
When asked if she was confident in the pre-departure regimes of other countries, Ardern said not every country has the same "very cautious" approach when it comes to PCR testing.
"Which is why, as soon as someone arrives in New Zealand, we test them immediately again, and that's providing that extra layer of assurance that we've got people in the right facilities if they happen to have Covid-19."
