"So that does suggest that there has been due consideration," she said at the time.
But this was incorrect and Ardern's office was forced to issue a rare correction that night to say in fact none had been granted and she'd ordered a review of each case in light of the High Court ruling.
The Herald can reveal it was a confusing layout that caused the blunder and the Ministry of Health said it "sincerely apologises".
The figure of 18 came from the number of returned overseas travellers in quarantine or managed isolation who'd been granted exemptions:
• 13 exemptions were for medical needs that couldn't be adequately managed in a facility
• 3 were for transit
• 1 was a medical evacuation
• 1 was an essential worker
There were also 73 requests for exemptions for compassionate reasons - 24 of which were to visit a dying relative. None were granted.
Last week, Christiansen challenged his case so he could see his dying father after returning from the United Kingdom on April 23.
His father was given just a few days to live.
A High Court judge overruled the Ministry of Health's orders and Christiansen was able to spend just over a day with his father before he passed away.
Justice Tracey Walker said the Ministry of Health's decisions to decline permission were, on their face, "legally flawed on more than [one] basis".
The Ministry's decision was "not considered on the correct legal grounds and did not take account of relevant mandatory considerations".
It had the hallmarks of automatic rejection based on circumscribed criteria rather than a proper exercise of discretion required by the Health Act (Managed Air Arrivals) Order, she said.
"Had the correct approach been followed, Mr Christiansen's application may have successfully come within the compassionate grounds (with low risk of transmission) or exceptional circumstances categories," Justice Walker said.
In light of the ruling, Ardern asked for a review of the rejected exemption requests as it appeared they'd been made automated and hadn't been given due consideration.
Bloomfield said today the review of 32 exemptions had now been completed and all the decisions had been processed correctly at the time.
However, some of the findings would have been different following the judicial decision last week and they were being reviewed again, Bloomfield said. This would be completed by tomorrow.
One person has already had their request for an exemption agreed to on review and has now left managed isolation.
New criteria
The Ministry of Health has updated its criteria for assessing requests for individuals wishing to visit a dying relative.
In order for an exemption to be granted, the request must include:
• a recent medical assessment of the relative,
• evidence of their family relationship,
• and an appropriate plan to manage the applicant's self-isolation and appropriate travel plan while visiting their loved one.
The review process has found that all of the original decisions were correct on the original criteria, but has found that some decisions should be changed to reflect the updated criteria, which reflect the findings of last week's High Court judgement.
