Medical clearance to travel to Niue cost a father and son $500

A Niuean father in Auckland booked to travel to Niue on the flight today was distraught that he was charged $500 when he and his son went to get their COVID 19 tests done before traveling to Niue.

The father posted his frustrations of paying $500 for the medical clearance on social media over the weekend, obviously upset that the requirement of a doctor’s sign off on their clear COVID 19 tests would cost him this much.

In an email to BCN news, he said that he received an email from the Office of the Secretary to Government from Niue that they needed to get their tests completed 4 days before their travel date.

BCN news contacted the Acting Secretary to Government Gaylene Tasmania about this man’s situation and she said that they are aware of this case.

Tasmania said that these tests can be done at any COVID testing station, and the passenger then sends us a copy of the results as soon as they are received or at the latest, by Monday 10am (NZ time), so we can further confirm with Air NZ that the passenger is cleared to be checked in the next day. These tests can also be done by family doctors.

The Minister of Health Hon. Sauni Togatule said that all in-coming passengers need to be reminded of their responsibilities before boarding the flight to Niue.

Acting SOG said that all passengers would have been in touch with the Office of the SOG initially when applying to return to Niue, but they need to keep in regular contact if there are any questions.

One of the passengers who came out of quarantine yesterday told BCN news this morning that she did her tests at a community testing station in Auckland and the results were signed off by their GP for free.

An unfortunate situation for the father and his son, who could’ve avoided paying this hefty charge had he known to get their tests done at a community testing station.