Topline
New Zealand authorities on Thursday announced plans for a phased reopening of the country’s borders—with restrictions being lifted in October—outlining the end of some of the world’s most stringent pandemic border restrictions, a plan which was put on hold by the arrival of the omicron variant.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern after announcing the country will move to red traffic light settings … [+]
Key Facts
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that vaccinated New Zealanders from Australia will be allowed to enter the country from February 27, without needing to quarantine at a state-managed facility.
Vaccinated New Zealand citizens, skilled workers and other eligible travelers from the rest of the world will be allowed to enter the country from March 13.
While no longer having to quarantine in government facilities, incoming travelers will be required to self-isolate for 10 days and undertake at least two rapid antigen tests.
The phased reopening will continue for the following months with New Zealand gradually opening itself up for students, critical workers, Australian citizens and other work visa holders.
New Zealand will fully reopen its borders to travelers from the rest of the world in October, finally putting an end to one of the world’s most stringent pandemic measures.
Ardern’s announcement comes as New Zealand is witnessing an omicron variant-fueled surge in cases, the fear of which had delayed earlier reopening plans.
Big Number
93%. That’s the percentage of New Zealand’s eligible population—people over the age of 12—who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to official government data. Additionally 95% of eligible people have received at least one vaccine dose.
Key Background
Over the last two years, New Zealand had emerged as the poster child of the ‘zero-Covid’ approach, which allowed it to enjoy several month-long streaks without any local Covid-19 cases. The country relied on one of the world’s strictest border lockdowns along with quarantine and contact tracing efforts to stomp out all local spread of the virus without needing to rely on protracted lockdowns. However, the emergence of the more infectious delta and omicron variant on its shores forced the country to switch away from its previous strategy. Despite this, New Zealand has continued to keep its borders largely shut and instead of ditching all restrictions the country has switched to a “traffic light system” which replaced lockdowns with targeted measures like mask mandates, vaccine passes and restrictions on large gatherings. This allowed the south pacific nation to keep its Covid-19 fatality numbers extremely low, reporting only 53 deaths since the start of the pandemic, which equates to 1.08 deaths per 100,000 people.
Further Reading
Covid-19: Border reopening for New Zealanders confirmed for end of February – what you need to know (Radio New Zealand)
Fortress New Zealand delays full reopening until October (Reuters)
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Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2022/02/03/new-zealand-to-begin-loosening-its-strict-border-lockdown-next-month-full-reopening-set-for-october/