Jacinda Arden, the country’s Prime Minister, has unveiled a five-step reopening plan.
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Tourists and expatriates will still have to wait. New Zealand will not fully reopen its borders until October, announced Thursday February 3 Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of this archipelago with one of the most draconian anti-Covid-19 regulations in the world. Many New Zealanders have been unable to return to see their dying loved ones or even give birth in their country at Classes of the last few months.
The head of government has unveiled a five-step plan to restore New Zealand’s relationship with the rest of the world. The first will be the end of mandatory hotel quarantine for nationals stranded abroad due to the pandemic. From February 27, New Zealanders currently in Australia will be able to return to their country and observe a quarantine at home rather than in a hotel. Two weeks later, all nationals currently abroad will be able to do the same.
Over the weeks, the quarantine measure will be lifted, in particular for skilled migrants, foreign students, Australians and then all vaccinated foreign travelers. As part of this plan, travelers arriving from abroad will have to isolate themselves for 10 days and no longer be in quarantine in a hotel under military surveillance. The borders will be fully open in October.
New Zealand originally planned to start easing border measures in January and fully reopen them in April, but postponed that plan due to the appearance of the Omicron variant. According to the head of government, this quarantine system in force has been very harsh but has been a key element of New Zealand’s success in the fight against the pandemic. The archipelago has recorded only 53 deaths for five million inhabitants and 95% of its inhabitants are vaccinated.