New Zealand will remain closed to tourists until October

New Zealand will remain closed to tourists until October

New Zealand’s borders are gradually reopening, but international tourists are only welcome again from October. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Thursday morning local time at a press conference that from February 27, the first New Zealanders from Australia will be allowed to return to their own country without a mandatory hotel quarantine on arrival. They have to self-isolate for another ten days.

From March 13, New Zealand residents residing elsewhere in the world will also be able to travel to their own country again, and international students will be admitted from April 12. From July, anyone from Australia and other visa-free countries will be allowed to come to New Zealand again, and other international tourists will not be received until October.

“Reopening in this controlled way will allow people to be reunited and fill our labor shortages,” Ardern said in Auckland. New Zealand has been conducting a zero covid policy with strict measures, but according to the prime minister will accept “more infections in our society” with the reopening of the borders. She also said the country is “as prepared as possible” with a vaccination rate of over 95 percent.

The prime minister has recently been criticized for the strict entry rules, but remains behind her policy of the past almost two years. “This measure has undeniably saved lives,” Ardern said. “Not everyone could come home when they wanted to, but that also meant Covid-19 couldn’t get in.”