हिंदी ब्लॉग 
Wellington, Jan 12 (IANS) The New Zealand government is going to implement as series of additional actions in an effort to curb the further spreading of Covid-19, including the new emerging variants of the virus, a Minister said on Tuesday.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced that passengers from countries, excluding Australia, Antarctica and some Pacific Island nations, will be required to undergo Day 0/1 testing upon arrival in New Zealand, reports Xinhua news agency.
This will expand the measures already in place for passengers from the UK and the US.
It will be progressively introduced at Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) facilities over three days, starting from January 18. Routine Day 3 and Day 12 tests will continue, Hipkins said in a statement.
"Given the high rates of infection in many countries and evidence of the global spread of more transmissible variants, it's clear that most global air routes will be of critical concern for the foreseeable future, and we must respond strongly to the evolving situation.
"New Zealand is currently in a very fortunate position with no community cases - let alone of new variant types - but we take nothing for granted.
"That's why we continue to take action, with very specific steps to further strengthen our response at the air border," the Minister added.
Also on Tuesday, Hipkins signed further amendments to the Air Border Order.
From 11.59 p.m. on Friday, travellers arriving on all flights from from the UK and the US must have had a negative Covid test result carried out 72 hours before their departure.
The government will soon expand the pre-departure test requirement to all countries and territories excluding Australia, Antarctica and some Pacific Island nations, Hipkins said.
Children under two will be exempt from pre-departure testing, and passengers transiting through the UK and the US for not more than 96 hours before departing for New Zealand will be exempt for now from pre-departure testing, he added.
--IANS
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