Michael Woodhouse - Health
29 January 2020
The Government is acting far too slowly on bringing New Zealanders stranded in Wuhan home, National’s Health
spokesperson Michael Woodhouse says.
“There are 53 registered New Zealanders currently stuck in limbo, and this number is growing as more register, yet the
Government cannot confirm if and when they will be evacuated.
“While other major nations are either actively evacuating citizens or making serious plans to do so, the Prime Minister
is making excuses saying it would be ‘very difficult’ to evacuate New Zealand citizens, and would not confirm whether
the Government would do so.
“It is understood the USA is close to a successful evacuation and other major nations are not far behind. But the Prime
Minister’s response has been to put it in the too-hard basket.
“The New Zealanders stuck in Wuhan are desperate, scared and struggling to get consular assistance, the Government has a
duty of care to act quickly for their sake.
“The Government is failing to act while the rest of the world is taking this situation seriously. They need to take
action and get these Kiwis home.”
ends