Health Ministry Te Marae Ora (TMO) has thanked local businesses Landholdings Ltd, Ocean Fresh and all of their staff, for their generous donation of a Covid-19 testing facility at the Rarotonga airport.

The new cubicle facility will allow for the testing of travellers to the Pa Enua, as well as those members of the public who are symptomatic and may want to get themselves tested, a TMO statement said.

The facility has been put together to a tight timeline by Landholdings Ltd and was completed yesterday afternoon and will be ready for use when the border opens today.

Secretary of Health Bob Williams said: “We are very thankful for the generosity shown by Landholdings and Ocean Fresh.”

“We are also grateful not only for their kind donation but for the hard work and diligence displayed by Landholdings management and staff, which allowed this vital facility to be constructed in such a short timeframe.

“Likewise, I want to acknowledge the effort put in by staff from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management, the Airport Authority and Infrastructure Cook Islands who have jointly worked on this project.”

A representative of Landholdings Ltd, Ocean Fresh said all staff of both companies are extremely pleased to donate this testing facility to Te Mare Ora for the benefit of the people of the Cook Islands.

“With the border opening (today) and new health regulations coming into effect for travel to the Pa Enua, this testing facility is a very necessary piece of infrastructure to have at the airport and I am extremely pleased to know it is ready to go.”

Under the new national health regulations put in place as part of the Cook Islands Covid-19 Safe Framework, from January 13 onwards all travellers to the Pa Enua must be fully vaccinated and pass a rapid antigen test for Covid-19 at the domestic departure terminal.

-Jaewynn McKay/TMO