New Zealand will remain closed to tourists until October

New Zealand’s borders are gradually reopening, but international tourists are not welcome again until October. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Thursday morning local time at a press conference that from February 27, Australia’s first New Zealanders will be allowed to return to their own country without a mandatory hotel quarantine at their home. arrival. They must self-isolate for another ten days.

From March 13, New Zealand residents residing elsewhere in the world will also be able to travel back to their own country, and international students will be admitted from April 12. From July, anyone from Australia and other countries without a visa will be allowed to re-enter New Zealand, and other international tourists will not be received until October.

“Reopening in this controlled way will allow people to be together and fill our labor shortages,” Ardern said in Auckland. New Zealand conducted 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 was “as prepared as it can be” with a vaccination rate of over 95%.

The Prime Minister has recently come under fire for the strict entry rules, but remains behind his policy of nearly two years. “This measure has undeniably saved lives,” Ardern said. “Not everyone could go home whenever they wanted, but that also meant Covid-19 couldn’t come in.”