COVID-19: Thousands of German tourists stranded in New Zealand amid crisis

Amid the unprecedented outbreak of deadly coronavirus, thousands of German tourists are currently stranded in New Zealand as the local government has imposed restrictions on return flights of foreigners who wish to return to their home country. The German Embassy in Berlin has reportedly said that “more than 10,000 Germans” are currently in New Zealand because the latter’s foreign ministry has imposed a temporary ban on the return flights which would be extended beyond March 31 to an indefinite date in a bid to stem the drastic spread of COVID-19. 

According to reports, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is currently working on a way to construct a “framework conditions” to enable the stranded foreigners to board the flights for repatriation. But she said in a news conference on March 31 that the process might take “few days” and called it “complex”. Among all affected countries with the coronavirus outbreak, both Germany and New Zealand are also ramping-up their precautionary measures to soften the blow of the pandemic. While New Zealand has reported 708 confirmed cases with one death, Germany has announced 72,914 cases of COVID-19 disease with at least 793 casualties. 

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‘Please be patient’

Earlier, German Foreign minister Heiko Maas had asked all German citizens in foreign countries including the European Union, to remain patient as the authorities were working on evacuation procedures. On April 1, Maas tweeted that even if the air traffic comes to a standstill, the German authorities would continue to “fight for every single flight” that cand be made possible amid the crisis due to the pandemic. 

The coronavirus, which originated in China in December 2019, has now claimed over 42,300 lives worldwide as of April 1. According to the tally by international news agency, the pandemic has now spread to 203 countries and has infected at least 859,770 people. Out of the total infections, 178,335 have been recovered but the easily spread virus is continuing to disrupt many lives. Major cities have been put under lockdown in almost all countries and the economy is struggling. 

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(Image Source: AP/Representative)