Covid testing rules for air crew still up in the air

The Health Ministry has not been able to clarify whether all air crew flying into New Zealand will be tested for Covid-19, two days after Health Minister Chris Hipkins appeared to suggest that he believed that should be happening already. Rules published on the Health Ministry website indicate that crew who live in New Zealand and who spend more than two nights on a lay-over overseas must have a Covid test after their return. But this is not stated as a requirement in other situations. Concerned air crew revealed last week that the Government had been transferring people arriving in Auckland to managed isolation facilities in Wellington on turboprop aircraft with no Hepa anti-virus air filters and only one shared toilet, before those incoming passengers had been tested for Covid-19. Crew on those special flights could then be required to immediately crew regular domestic flights without first having a Covid test, they said. A Health Ministry spokeswoman said the ministry was working on health advice which would include “revised protocols and policy for testing of flight crews”. However, the ministry was not able to clarify whether the new order would require the testing of all Air New Zealand crew flying internationally, or whether such an order would also apply to airline staff crewing domestic transfers into managed isolation. Air New Zealand said in a statement on Wednesday that it had worked closely with Ministry of Health officials to implement the measures currently in place.<br/>