{"id":4602,"date":"2021-01-03T20:10:25","date_gmt":"2021-01-03T20:10:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiofree.org\/?p=145704"},"modified":"2021-01-03T20:10:25","modified_gmt":"2021-01-03T20:10:25","slug":"covid-19-might-get-more-intense-across-world-in-coming-weeks-warns-nz-expert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/01\/03\/covid-19-might-get-more-intense-across-world-in-coming-weeks-warns-nz-expert\/","title":{"rendered":"Covid-19 \u2018might get more intense\u2019 across world in coming weeks, warns NZ expert"},"content":{"rendered":"
By RNZ News<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n The new covid-19 variant found in the UK is set to become more prevalent across the world due to its more transmissible nature<\/a>, a New Zealand epidemiologist says.<\/p>\n Six cases of the recently identified UK variant<\/a> have been found in New Zealand\u2019s managed isolation facilities over the past three days.<\/p>\n Professor Michael Baker said the new strain was always going to make its way to New Zealand<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was inevitable \u2013 because once it becomes a dominant strain, like it has in the UK, people coming here will obviously bring it with them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis new variant will become dominant all over the world over the next couple of weeks and months because it\u2019s more infectious.\u201d<\/p>\n He said if there was community transmission with the new strain in New Zealand it would be harder to control.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve seen figures that it is up to 50 to 70 percent more infectious. That means a higher reproduction number which means it would be harder to contain an outbreak if one occurs<\/p>\n \u201cWe really want to avoid going into a lockdown but that could easily happen if an outbreak happens with the new variant.\u201d<\/p>\n Pre-departure test move \u2018inevitable\u2019<\/strong> But many travellers were already taking pre-flight coronavirus tests as a requirement for some transit countries, Professor Baker said.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, the government announced that from January 15 people arriving from America and the United Kingdom will need to show they have tested negative<\/a> less than 72 hours before departing.<\/p>\n