New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that the country will reopen its borders to international travelers early next year. Ardern said Thursday that New Zealand will only reopen once its vaccination campaign is complete.
While most of the world is still struggling to contain new waves of the coronavirus, fueled primarily by the Delta variant, New Zealand claims to have completely stamped out the disease. Thanks to its quick actions and the immediate closure of its borders, New Zealand has only reported 26 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
"While the pandemic continues to rage overseas, and the virus continues to change and mutate, the best thing we can do is lock in the gains achieved to date while keeping our options open," Ardern said.
New Zealand previously set a goal of completing its vaccination campaign by the end of the year. While the rollout has been much slower than in most developed countries, the pace has accelerated in recent weeks. According to government data, only about 29% of New Zealanders have received their first shot, and only 17% are fully vaccinated.
To help further accelerate vaccinations, the New Zealand government plans to increase the standard time scheduled between vaccine doses from three weeks to six weeks. Ardern said this should allow more people to get partially vaccinated quickly.
Ardern said the nation would maintain its zero-tolerance approach to containing the virus, even after it eventually reopens its borders. She said the government would be following the advice of medical experts throughout the process.
Ardern said the government would take a cautious approach in reopening the country's borders sometime during the first quarter of 2022. She said the first to be allowed in would be fully vaccinated travelers from low-risk countries. Travelers from these countries will not be required to quarantine.
New Zealand then plans to allow travelers from high-risk countries later on, but they have to submit to a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Officials did not provide a list of low-risk and high-risk countries, stating that these could change quickly in the coming months.
By October, New Zealand plans to run a trial run of its new protocols and systems by allowing business travelers to enter the country. These travelers will be allowed to quarantine at home instead of in military-run hotels.
