Transcript
WZ: The French Polynesian President Edouard Fritch announced that the parliamentarian Maina Sage tested positive for the coronavirus. He said she returned from Paris at the weekend and is now at home.
JT: What do we know about her condition?
WZ: She is said to be well. The public has also been told that some people who travelled are being tracked down for possible testing.
JT: How did she get infected?
WZ: There is suspicion that she got the virus after being at a meeting with the French culture minister Franck Riester, who has also been infected. Mr Fritch said before returning to Tahiti she had a medical check-up that showed no sign of the illness. However amid concern over the spread of the virus and feeling unwell, she then reportedly arranged for a test in Tahiti at the beginning of the week which came back positive.
JT: Are there any warnings now?
WZ: To begin with, Mr Fritch has called on French Polynesians not to travel abroad. There have already been cancellations of school trips to New Zealand. Some of the plans are in limbo because of the cancellation policy of for example Air New Zealand. The question is whether trips can be deferred as not to lose money spent on airfares.
JT: Was this announcement a surprise?
WZ: Rumours had been circulating that the government was keeping information under wraps. Mr Fritch made expressly the point that he had promised to upfront and therefore let the public know about Ms Sage's infection. The health minister denied there were other cases.
JT: What about the checks of passengers arriving by plane? Are they being checked?
WZ: There has been some miscommunication about the need to have a certificate to be virus free when boarding a plane to Tahiti. It was to be presented from last week but then deferred to this week.
It is still unclear whether it is needed because it has been established that by law a French citizen cannot be denied entry into Tahiti because French Polynesia is part of France, at least in terms of border controls.
JT: How worried has French Polynesia been?
WZ: On social media there was alarm from the day the outbreak was reported in China. The government acted on that and initially required travellers from Asia to prove that they were free from the virus. It also revoked the work permits of locally-employed Chinese workers who were in China. The risk zone was extended to include places like Iran and Italy. The government keeps calling for calm. Someone who has had a rather relaxed attitude is the pro-independence leader Oscar Temaru who has downplayed the contamination risk. He said it helped if people practised therapeutic fasting while there is a full moon.
