But Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned it won’t be plain sailing, as there are still a number of logistical issues the Government needs to address before an evacuation is attempted.
More than 100 people have died from the flu-like virus, which originated in Wuhan city in Hubei province. Eighteen countries have confirned instances of the illness.
Speaking to reporters at her first post-Cabinet press conference of the year, Ardern revealed today there were 53 New Zealanders registered as being in the Wuhan region.
Roughly 20 have contacted the Government seeking consular assistance, she said, but no New Zealanders in the city are showing symptoms of the virus.
Ardern said the Chinese Government has advised that it would be “very difficult” to evacuate New Zealand citizens, even if they were healthy, because of the measures put in place.
There were “many logistical issues” that needed to be worked through with the Chinese Government, Ardern said.
These include navigating the tight travel restrictions imposed by China, pre-departure screening requirements, and complying with any quarantine measures.
Because of this, Ardern said evacuating Kiwis in the region was “not a simple, straightforward exercise”.
Despite this, in a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Mfat) said it was exploring evacuation options with other countries.
“Options include the possibility of places being made available for New Zealanders on charter flights leaving Wuhan, or assisted departure by NZDF [New Zealand Defence Force] which is more complex,” a spokesperson said.
The spokesperson warned New Zealanders in China that they “must comply with all Chinese laws, rules and regulations, including the travel restrictions imposed by the Chinese authorities to contain the virus”.
The US Department of State is making arrangements to get its government staff out of Wuhan – but Ardern confirmed there were no New Zealand Government officials in the city.
She also said that Cabinet had today decided to classify coronavirus as a “notifiable disease” - which gives medical officials the power to quarantine people, if required.
But Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said a situation where officials would have to exercise this power would be “very, very unusual”.
Other diseases which are classed as notifiable include: Hepatitis A, Typhoid and paratyphoid fever and Salmonellosis.
So far, almost 4200 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed; 98% of them in China. There have been 106 deaths.
There are still no cases in New Zealand, but Bloomfield said it was very likely that the disease would reach New Zealand’s shores.
However, it was highly unlikely to be fatal and was not likely to spread beyond a few people.
This afternoon, he said it was “impossible” to confirm when coronavirus will reach New Zealand.
In terms of the economic impact of the disease, Tourism New Zealand chief executive Stephen England-Hall said the impact on travel was, at this stage, unknown.
But he said it was likely to impact tourism numbers around the world and New Zealand would not be immune.
“Around 90 percent of travellers this time last year from China would have come through a Chinese tourism bureau, so the suspension has the potential to have a significant impact on the NZ industry and economy.”
Ardern said she had not yet had any advice from Treasury on the likely economic impact of coronavirus. But she did say she has asked Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis to provide her with a briefing as to how much of an impact on tourism to New Zealand the virus would have.
She said it was “early days” but said there might be a waylaid impact on Chinese travel to New Zealand.
Meanwhile, pharmacists say they’re almost instantly selling out of face masks amid concern over the virus.
But experts and health authorities say the devices won’t be of much help.
Bloomfield, for example, did not make much of the devices, when asked by reporters today.
“You can use a face mask if you like, but it is not really any protection,” he said.
Health Minister David Clark said despite having no cases "we will remain vigilant".
"If a case does show up here, we are prepared. As of today, the National Health Coordination centre has been activated to coordinate the response to the novel coronavirus.
"This morning Cabinet authorised an infectious and notifiable diseases order and the executive council has already passed that through its system so that it comes into effect on 31 January."
He said that would make the virus a "notifiable disease", meaning that health practitioners are required to notice medical officers of health. The medical officers would then have the ability to restrict travel or issue detention orders to those infected.
Health officials this week began screening inbound passengers from China at Christchurch and Auckland airports for symptoms of coronavirus.
- NZ Herald and RNZ
