A state of emergency has been declared in New Zealand after 50 more coronavirus cases were confirmed today.
More than 100 New Zealand International Commercial Pilot Academy student will spend the four-week Covid-19 lockdown in student accomodation.
Chief executive Phillip Bedford said they have followed the mandate requirement given by the Government to close down education facilities and transfer lectures to online learning.
There are more than 20 students at the former Nazareth Rest Home which has been in lockdown since Sunday, Bedford said.
There were strict provisions for supplies getting in and out.
Other students have been moved into the Collegiate Motor Inn.
No one is allowed in or out and they are working on arrangements to get in supplies.
"At the moment our entire company is symptom-free, we made sure of that, the safest thing we can do to ensure everybody's safety and wellbeing is to have a complete lockdown and run just a bit of a supply chain in and out with some pretty strict provisions," Bedford said.
He said they have high numbers of people living in close quarters and because that could not be avoided they wanted to do everything to keep people safe.
New Zealand International Commercial Pilot Academy CEO Phillip Bedford wants to reassure the community they have a solid student base to move forward with. Photo / File
Most of the students were at the early stages of their ground lectures which they can continue in isolation but for those who are already in flight training, he said there was a number of things they can study and prepare for.
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Bedford said their second group of students who are still based in India, who need to complete their Indian pilot licence before coming to New Zealand are still able to complete their ground level papers.
He said they would decide later whether they allow those students to travel to New Zealand or wait until later in the year.
The students are expected to start their ground lectures that relate to New Zealand papers on June 15 which run for around 15 weeks.
"We sit here right now with a good solid student base to move forward," Bedford said.
"All the students we've currently got in New Zealand, if we are able to start up again and we don't know when that will be because we are following the Government rules, the pilot academy will operate at maximum capacity out until the end of March 2021."
The Collegiate Motor Inn is housing 59 pilot students who are in strict lockdown. Photo / Bevan Conley
He said if they do not have a single arrival of student pilots in New Zealand in the coming months they have got enough clients in the country to operate until March 2021.
"We've got the best chance you could possibly have with moving forward successfully with the Covid-19 world situation."
He said even if the Government creates new rules around travel once the level four is lifted, if they are still feeling uncertain they will keep international students at home.
"I don't want to overstate this but I hope that we're able to provide a bit of resilience to the Whanganui community, economically this project is economic development and the 101 people that are here minus 10 New Zealand students that have gone home, that spending will still occur."
Ten other New Zealand-based academy students have gone home to self-isolate with their families.
