RNZ, Auckland, February 5, 2020
The government-chartered Air New Zealand flight, which picked up New Zealanders from the epicentre of the deadly coronavirus outbreak, has arrived in Auckland.
The flight, which took off from Wuhan at 645 am (NZT), touched down in Auckland shortly after 6 pm today, February 5, 2020.
There were 190 evacuees on board the flight, from 11 countries other than New Zealand. Another eight consular and health staff also travelled on board.
The passenger list included 54 New Zealand citizens and 44 New Zealand Permanent Residents on Chinese passports.
No shows in Wuhan Airport
Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that about 60 people who registered for the flight did not arrive at the airport and did not give notice.
Some who registered earlier chose not to take the flight and took themselves off the list.
One person was stopped from boarding the Air New Zealand flight from Wuhan after being screened pre-flight because they were unwell.
The flight also carried 23 Australian Citizens and 12 Australian Permanent Residents on Chinese passports, who will now be transferred by flight to Australia.
All other passengers, including Foreign Affairs and Health Ministry staff, will be placed into quarantine for two weeks in Whangaparaoa, where a Navy base has been converted into a mini village.
Centre at Whangaparaoa
Everyone on board the plane apart from the Air New Zealand volunteer crew were set to be housed there, including consular staff who had travelled to Wuhan as well as health officials.
In a statement, the Health Ministry said people at the Centre would receive daily medical checks while in isolation.
“We also want to ensure while people are in isolation, they can continue to maintain as normal a life as possible, despite the circumstances. That might mean people working remotely, meeting education needs for children and providing for leisure activities. Catering will be provided by commercial contractors.”
There is a no-fly zone above this facility and people who want to drop parcels off to people in the facility will be asked to drop them at the local police station in Orewa.
