New Zealand military to oversee borders after virus bungle
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Morning traffic passes a warning sign on the first day of all New Zealand domestic regulations being lifted for COVID-19 in Nelson, New Zealand, June 9, 2020. /Reuters

Morning traffic passes a warning sign on the first day of all New Zealand domestic regulations being lifted for COVID-19 in Nelson, New Zealand, June 9, 2020. /Reuters

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Wednesday appointed the military to oversee the country's borders after a quarantine bungle that allowed COVID-19 back into the state.

New Zealand lost its COVID-19 free status when two women, who had been given permission to leave quarantine early after arriving from abroad, tested positive for the new coronavirus, after 24 days with no new cases of the new coronavirus, authorities said on Tuesday.

Ardern stated the government would review what happened and the checks were definitely not adequate in this case.

It was "absolutely nonsensical" they didn't get tested earlier and it was clear border controls needed to be tightened to ensure similar failures were not repeated, she said.

The rigor, confidence, and discipline that was expected to be provided by the military was in an urgent need, she claimed.

New Zealand's assistant chief of defense, Digby Webb, had been ordered to oversee border quarantine operations and was being given access to military personnel and logistical expertise.

Health Minister David Clark said New Zealand had successfully "eliminated COVID-19" prior to latest imported cases, after recording only 22 deaths in a population of five million.

The South Pacific nation had trumpeted its achievement last week of becoming one of the first countries in the world to eliminate COVID-19 and return to pre-pandemic normality, lifting all social and economic restrictions except border controls.

The country requires all people arriving from abroad to quarantine for 14 days to avoid reintroducing the disease. The two women in their 30s and 40s had traveled from Britain to visit a dying parent in Wellington on June 7, the director general of health said in a news conference.

Both had gone into quarantine in Auckland after landing, but had been given special permission to leave on compassionate grounds, even though one had symptoms, which she attributed to a pre-existing condition. They tested positive after they returned to quarantine.

(With input from AFP and Reuters)