New Zealand reopens its doors to vaccinated visitors.
New Zealand has announced plans to reopen its borders and allow foreigners to enter the country next year. Fully vaccinated visitors will be able to enter from April 30 and be asked to self-isolate for seven days upon arrival.
Starting early next year, more New Zealanders will be able to travel home under similar rules. The move eases tight restrictions that have blocked many citizens and tourists since borders were closed at the start of the Covid pandemic. Covid-19 Response Secretary Chris Hipkins outlined the step-by-step reopening plans on Monday, calling them "the safest approach to ensuring prudent risk management."
What do the new rules say?
In the first phase of reopening, fully vaccinated New Zealanders and residents currently in Australia will be allowed to return from January 16.
New Zealanders residing in all other countries are allowed entry from February 13.
Foreign passengers will be the last group to be allowed into the country from April 30. "This (step-by-step approach) reduces the potential impact on vulnerable communities and New Zealand's health system," Hipkins said.
Currently, only New Zealand citizens and permanent residents have the right to enter the country and are required to stay in a state-run quarantine hotel for seven days. Due to limited space, the rules forbid many New Zealanders from returning.
As part of a much-respected hardline approach to Covid that has managed to minimize deaths. In addition to travel restrictions, he reversed previous outbreaks with a swift and tight blockade.
However, the country is struggling to beat the highly contagious strain of the Delta virus, forcing Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to shift from eliminating Covid to higher vaccination rates and treating the virus as endemic.
He made a balloon to travel to Australia earlier this year but had to stop it months later after eruptions in both countries. New Zealanders are excited to reunite with friends and family in May 2020, following the country's coronavirus restrictions' easing, allowing a maximum of 10 people to meet and reopen businesses.