Charlotte Bellis has confirmed she will be returning to New Zealand at the beginning of March to give birth to her baby girl, after accepting an emergency spot in MIQ.
Bellis - stranded and pregnant in Afghanistan - was offered an MIQ voucher earlier today.
Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson earlier this afternoon revealed the place for Bellis, and flight arrangements alongside it, had been communicated to her today.
"There is a place in MIQ for Miss Bellis and I urge her to take it up," Robertson said at today's post-Cabinet press conference.
Robertson said he could not comment on the situations of the dozens of other pregnant women who had been turned down.
MBIE officials worked hard to make good decisions, they continually communicated with people who applied, as with Bellis' case, and there was now a place for her, he said.
"Really difficult decisions on a daily basis" had to be made through the Covid response, Robertson said.
Robertson said the place for Bellis, and flight arrangements alongside it, had been communicated to her today.
Today, Cabinet met to discuss the Omicron response.
Robertson said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will on Thursday announce New Zealand's plans to reconnect to the world. He said a vaccine update will be given tomorrow.
While the country was in the early stages, twice before New Zealand had proven it had the right plan to get through, he said.
In the last week had been a 24 per cent increase in people getting boosted and 67 per cent of those eligible were now boosted.
He said ministers were working through agencies about how to work closely with Māori health providers on the Omicron response.
Rapid antigen tests
The Government was preparing to move to phase 2 of the Omicron plan and integrating RATs and the "test to work" programme.
The Government’s has secured the delivery of enough rapid antigen tests (RATs) to help New Zealand through a widespread Omicron outbreak in the coming months, Associate Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today.
“Last week and over the weekend the Government has been in contact with a variety of rapid antigen test manufacturers. Those efforts have resulted in securing an additional 36 million tests for delivery over the next two months which corresponds with a predicted rise in Omicron cases,” Dr Ayesha Verrall said.
“These additional 36 million tests are on top of the 16.9 million orders already confirmed for delivery in February. Along with the 5.1 million tests already in the country, New Zealanders will have access to over 55 million rapid antigen tests in the coming two months.
“A total of 123 million rapid antigen tests have been ordered through to June, which will allow for regular and widespread testing to occur.
“Modelling on the use of rapid antigen tests through the outbreak suggests that during the peak we may be using as many as nine million RATs a week which is equivalent to testing a quarter of New Zealand every day, or all of New Zealand twice a week.
“That scale of testing will go a long way to reducing the risk of an infected person going to work and infecting others, and will help with keeping critical services and supply chains open and moving.
“Many of the RATs will be used to implement our ‘test to return’ policy for asymptomatic critical workers so our hospitals, supermarkets and other services that keep the country running can continue operating.
“The Government can also confirm today that one of the major suppliers of tests, Abbott, has corresponded with the Ministry of Health confirming that no tests ordered by the private sector prior to the Government’s largest order in January have been used to fill Government orders."
- additional reporting NZ Herald
