Read on Twitter
The India travel ban is concerning and I really hope it is a short-term measure and there will be support for stranded travellers. People are rightly asking why travel bans weren't considered for countries like the UK or USA at the height of their recent waves.
The percentage of arrivals from the UK and USA testing positive in MIQ was mostly 1-2% around new year (UK has since declined). The percentage of arrivals from India testing positive had been around 2-5% but has shot up towards 10% in recent weeks.
10% positivity is scarily high, but actually consistent with some estimates of infection rates in Mumbai right now https://twitter.com/muradbanaji/status/1379703284110348289
The number of cases arriving from India at the NZ border has also consistently been a lot higher that what you would expect based on their reported cases. There is clearly a LOT of undocumented infection in India.
So overall I think the travel ban is justified as a stop gap measure but I just hope it doesn't become a long term ban and consideration is given to New Zealanders who are stranded with no way of getting home
