NEW ZEALAND TO START EASING COVID BORDER RESTRICTIONS FOR FULLY VACCINATED

Thu 28 October 2021:

New Zealand announced on Thursday that it would relax its coronavirus border restrictions, which have been in place since March 2020, and move to a system of home isolation for fully vaccinated international visitors beginning early next year.

Last year, New Zealand was one of the first countries to close its borders in reaction to the pandemic, and it has kept these severe border controls in place, leaving many expatriate citizens and residents stuck for months.

From Nov. 14, fully vaccinated international travelers will stay only seven days in state quarantine facilities, half of the current requirement, according to the administration.

New Zealand’s COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins indicated at a press conference that home isolation would be implemented in the first quarter of 2022.

“We are very aware of pressure building at the borders as the world begins to reconnect,” Hipkins said at the news conference.

Smaller Pacific nations like Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu will be able to travel without quarantine starting Nov. 8, he added.

New Zealand, which was once the poster child for eradicating COVID-19, has been unable to contain the current Delta outbreak, forcing it to abandon its elimination policy and adapt to live with the virus.

Nonetheless, it has performed significantly better than many other countries, with COVID-19 cases totaling roughly 5,900 and only 28 deaths as a result of the tight restrictions.

New Zealand’s severe lockdown measures will be lifted once 90 percent of the country’s eligible population has been completely vaccinated, according to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. So far, over 72 percent of those eligible have been fully vaccinated, with roughly 87 percent receiving a first dose.

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