Jacinda Ardern reveals plan to open NZ international borders, issues warning on trans-Tasman travel bubble
NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced a plan to open the country’s international borders, as she issued a warning over the trans-Tasman travel bubble.
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Australians will have to wait more than a month before they learn whether the travel bubble with New Zealand will be reopened, as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned it won’t if there’s a risk to the nation.
Ms Ardern said on Thursday the country would stay the course with its Covid-19 elimination strategy, and that the trans-Tasman travel bubble would not restart unless health authorities could be sure New Zealanders would not be put at risk.
“We are not going to open if we consider that there is too much risk to New Zealand,” Ms Ardern said.
“We were clear on that from the beginning and that is still our position.”
She said the future of the travel arrangement would likely be revealed around the end of September.
It came as Ms Ardern announced plans for a phased reopening on New Zealands international borders to vaccinated travellers.
She said no decision had yet been made on which vaccines they accept from people arriving in the country, but as a baseline, those who had received the Pfizer vaccine would likely be treated the same as New Zealanders who had received it.
From October, vaccinated workers will be able to participate in a pilot program which will allow them to travel overseas and isolate at home, rather than completing 14-days of government-managed isolation.
Quarantine-free travel for some vaccinated travellers could become available in the first quarter of 2022.
The government would operate a tiered system where travellers from low-risk countries would not have to isolate. Those from medium-risk countries would have to complete some form of self-isolation or a shorter stay in hotel quarantine, while travellers from high-risk countries and the unvaccinated would still have to complete two weeks in government-managed isolation.
“Our ultimate goal is to get to quarantine-free travel for all vaccinated travellers … But we’re simply not in a position to fully reopen just yet,” she said.
She added: “Just like the science, that path will not be absolute. But I think people have come to appreciate that while the future is uncertain and the plan can change – that doesn’t mean we can’t make one.”
How the plan progresses will be dependent on how quickly the government can get vaccines into peoples arms.
Its first-dose rollout will be accelerated in response to the threat posed by the highly contagious Delta variant, and all resident aged over 16 will be able to book their first dose from September 1.
Originally published as Jacinda Ardern reveals plan to open NZ international borders, issues warning on trans-Tasman travel bubble
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