New Zealand has announced that it is bringing forward the reopening of its borders to international travellers after over 2 years of strict COVID-19 restrictions.
Starting 13th April 2022, fully vaccinated travellers from Australia will be allowed to enter the country without needing to quarantine. The reopening date to Australian travellers has been brought forward from July 2022.
As of 2nd May 2022, fully vaccinated travellers from approximately 60 visa-waiver countries, including the United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Canada, Japan and Singapore, will be permitted entry.
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The full reopening of the border is scheduled to take place in October. However, Jacinda Arden, the prime minister of New Zealand, announced that this could also be brought forward.
All arrivals will need to present a negative RT-PCR test taken within 48 hours of boarding the flight to New Zealand, or a supervised rapid antigen test/LAMP test taken within 24 hours of departure.
Arden said:
Closing our border was one of the first actions we took to stop Covid-19, over two years ago, and its reopening will spur our economic recovery throughout the remainder of the year. We’re ready to welcome the world back… We are a safe place to visit and New Zealand will be ready with open arms.
Ardern noted that tourism directly contributed 5.5% to GDP prior to COVID-19, with a further $11 billion generated indirectly, and accounted for 8% of the country’s national workforce.
Malaysia and South Korea have also announced that they will be reopening their borders to international travellers next month on 1st April 2022.
What do you think of New Zealand, a country with some of the most strictest COVID-19 restrictions in the world, announcing plans to prepone the reopening of its borders? Let me know in the comments section below.
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