New Zealand cops urge thieves who stole COVID-19 tent to get tested

Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, Auckland Hospital has reported that a tent was stolen from where it had been set up. According to reports, the police have advised the thieves to get themselves tested for the coronavirus because in the process of stealing the tent they may have exposed themselves to the risk of contracting coronavirus.

Police want the tent back

As per reports, the authorities have uploaded a video on Facebook on April 1 detailing the events. East Health Trust chief Loretta Hansen has claimed that the staff discovered that the tent was missing when they came in for work on the morning of April 1. According to the video, the testing station tent was bolted to the concrete but the thieves still managed to steal it.

The medical staff at first scrambled to find a replacement but thankfully the company that had originally erected the tent came to the rescue and put up a temporary tent so that testing could begin in time. Counties Manukau police Sergeant Brett Meale in the video appealed to the thieves to anonymously call and inform the police where the tent can be picked up from. He added that if anyone has come in contact with the tent, they should get themselves tested for COVID-19.

Germans stuck in New Zealand

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. 

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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. Meanwhile, New Zealand has reported over 700 positive coronavirus cases and one death.

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