COVID-19

Health ministry Te Marae Ora has released 10 simple and effective public health measures to help guide the public protect themselves and their families and communities. From this week you will find the attached poster in public spots around the island

I wish to extend our appreciation to the two casual contacts who returned last Friday. What I appreciate most about these two young people, has been their courage to be honest regarding their movements in Auckland in the week prior to travel. Their actions have helped protect the people of the Cook Islands and we must be thankful.

Two arriving passengers were identified as having visited one of the venues that the recently identified COVID-19 case in Auckland had visited. They have been placed in supervised quarantine as a precautionary measure alongside a third passenger who was seated beside one of the casual contacts.

We continue to learn more about this virus every day. The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 is adept and stealthy. And even though the risk is low there will always be the possibility it will get here and by the time we realise it is here it will have spread if public health measures are not practiced now

The Cook Islands Cabinet met today and approved the continuation of the air border closure for inwards passenger travel, with exemptions, which no longer include 14 days supervised quarantine on arrival.