New Zealand: Cruising Related COVID-19 News

[hpeer]

My analogy is that, to the virus, they will be small caches of untouched food in an otherwise food poor world.

But, this whole Covid mess has surprised me more than once so I make no predictions. But I sure do wonder a lot.

[mikereed100]

Originally Posted by hpeer

My analogy is that, to the virus, they will be small caches of untouched food in an otherwise food poor world.

But, this whole Covid mess has surprised me more than once so I make no predictions. But I sure do wonder a lot.

True enough. But with a vaccination rate of 95% I am hopeful that NZ is well positioned to weather it well.

[mindsofman]

You people crack me up..
I thought this site was about Boats,,,unless of course
You want to organize another Armada up the Riga Volga
to block Europe's newest Crazy,Putin,and prevent his
Plan of killing thousands while Annexing the Ukraine..
Just saying !!!!!!

[Rotten Ricky]

Originally Posted by hpeer

But, this whole Covid mess has surprised me more than once so I make no predictions. But I sure do wonder a lot.

Wonder no more! Many people sort of dismiss NZs success as being obvious because they are lucky or a couple of isolated islands. What they do not understand is that it has little to do with that - few people try to swim thousands of miles and crawl up on the beach with COVID. Planes and vessels still arrive there. Arriving sailors, if even allowed, should respect NZ laws.

They succeeded with limited resources cos Kiwis are team-players and they have compassion to take care of others. Even NZ right wingers. They do not let religion or partisan politics void their common sense. They believe in their scientific and political leaders, and pull together.

Other countries had vast advantages over NZ. They had the money and resources - like medical, infrastructure and law officials - that is thousands of times that of NZ. The USA could have quickly brought COVID under control and saved most of 900,000 lives, but chose selfish religious, monetary and political posturing - and sadly lost. Other large countries acted similarly. I feel so sorry for all the decent, wonderful Americans and others I have met who are caught up in this madness.

As sailors, remember that this tiny country has beaten the USA and other giants in the Americas Cup repeatedly and is the undisputed world's champion in rugby football. There is a reason for that.

Cheers, and stay safe!

RR.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by mindsofman

You people crack me up..
I thought this site was about Boats,,,unless of course
You want to organize another Armada up the Riga Volga
to block Europe's newest Crazy,Putin,and prevent his
Plan of killing thousands while Annexing the Ukraine..
Just saying !!!!!!

Im not sure what river we should be sailing up, The Hudson or the Volga, nor who should be doing the sailing !!

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Rotten Ricky

Wonder no more! Many people sort of dismiss NZs success as being obvious because they are lucky or a couple of isolated islands. What they do not understand is that it has little to do with that - few people try to swim thousands of miles and crawl up on the beach with COVID. Planes and vessels still arrive there. Arriving sailors, if even allowed, should respect NZ laws.

They succeeded with limited resources cos Kiwis are team-players and they have compassion to take care of others. Even NZ right wingers. They do not let religion or partisan politics void their common sense. They believe in their scientific and political leaders, and pull together.

Other countries had vast advantages over NZ. They had the money and resources - like medical, infrastructure and law officials - that is thousands of times that of NZ. The USA could have quickly brought COVID under control and saved most of 900,000 lives, but chose selfish religious, monetary and political posturing - and sadly lost. Other large countries acted similarly. I feel so sorry for all the decent, wonderful Americans and others I have met who are caught up in this madness.

As sailors, remember that this tiny country has beaten the USA and other giants in the Americas Cup repeatedly and is the undisputed world's champion in rugby football. There is a reason for that.

Cheers, and stay safe!

RR.

indeed, but NZ is an outlier in regards to Covid, Most developed countries could not,practically, or were not legally able to create a fortress.

with under a 100 deaths , NZ can surely claim to take the prize but the locking in or out of its residents in or outside the country , the compulsory quarantine etc are not a model most other liberal social democratic countries could implemented. Irelands attempt failed after two weeks

so you win a very dubious prize my friend.

[donradcliffe]

I chatted with a friend in Nz tonight. Covid cases are peaking, and the truckers in Wellington are restaging the siege of Ottowa.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

I chatted with a friend in Nz tonight. Covid cases are peaking, and the truckers in Wellington are restaging the siege of Ottowa.

One would have not thought before this that NZ was authoritarian. It does seem to have that now.

[GordMay]

New Zealand moves to end Canada-inspired convoy protest after 3 days
➥ https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/new-ze...nvoy-1.6345980

[hpeer]

The point about NZ “success” is that the game is not yet over. Once all Covid restrictions are lifted and things are back to normal for a year or two we will be able to take a full accounting of the total costs and impacts. Only then will the overall “best” and “worst” be truly evident. There is some significant cost associated with the extreme isolation. That needs to be weighed. As does the social and cultural disruption.

I hope that NZ is able to take advantage of their relative isolation and the high vaccination rate does translate into an overall “win”.

I would like to visit NZ someday. By sail would be nice. But none of it is possible under these isolationist regimes. In the meantime I will just be happy to return to the Carib. soon.

[El Pinguino]

This is worth a read https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/exp...mes-to-omicron
Suggests that to see what may happen when they open up they should look to Queensland which opened up a few months back with a similar population and similar vaxx rate.

To see what is happening in Queensland look here
https://www.theage.com.au/national/c..._redirect=true

[kiwin]

A few mindless idiots in Wellington have made alot of noise. It's somewhere well south of 1000 people, possibly as few as 400. Yesterday just under 60,000 people received vaccinations or booster shots. Just like the day before....
Where I live, in Auckland, the vaccination rate for over 11's is over 99%. Auckland is 35% of the population. The overall rate is over 95% of eligible are fully vaccinated. The vast majority of NZers think these idiots are more than a few sandwiches short of a picnic. They are nearly all victims of US sourced and funded propaganda and lies, but unfortunately have the critical thinking skills less than most family pets. Including rodents. They are 0.01% of the population and they are not at the desirable extreme of the i.q. bell curve.

[El Pinguino]

Good news on the NZ sailing front.

TIEs have been extended to 30th June, 2023. That is an extra 12 months more than the previous extension and takes into account that finding somewhere to go is still an issue - as is getting back into NZ to rejoin your boat.

https://www.customs.govt.nz/covid-19...d-small-craft/

[Boatguy30]

OZ, is now open to yachts as is Fiji now with agent not required so there are options. But having TIE extended is nice. I just rented a pile mooring for $35 US a month and will be flying out for 7 months. There is still a bit of grey area is the 9 months in every 18/ visa rule is being applied as that has been waived for those in country during Covid.

[GordMay]

New Zealand, which closed its borders to almost all foreigners, in March 2020, and has had some of the strictest travel measures, said it would fully reopen, to fully vaccinated visitors, from countries with waived visas, including the U.S., Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, and the U.K., starting May 1/22.

On that date, travelers will be allowed to visit, without needing to self-isolate upon arrival, if they have a negative pre-departure test (PCR, LAMP, or rapid antigen tests are all acceptable). Additionally, on arrival at Auckland Airport, all travelers will be provided with two rapid antigen tests, at no charge. The tests are self-administered, after exit from the airport, and travelers will be asked to take the first test on the day of their arrival into New Zealand, and then the second test on day five or six. The tests can be taken at a hotel, or wherever travelers are staying.