Two big border announcements from the New Zealand government!
COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins made two big announcements on 28 February 2022.
The first announcement was that New Zealand is removing self-isolation requirements for vaccinated travellers. The other announcement was that New Zealand is bringing forward stage two of the border reopening plan.
All self-isolation requirements removed from 2 March for fully vaccinated travellers
The New Zealand government has decided to drop the requirement for self-isolation for fully vaccinated travellers upon arrival in New Zealand after consultation with the Strategic COVID-19 Public Health Advisory Group and the Director General of Health.
This decision means that all New Zealanders coming home and tourists entering the country will be able to step off the plan and enter the community immediately, and it takes effect on Wednesday, 2 March.
Travellers must still have a negative pre-departure PCR test, though, and undertake two rapid antigen tests on arrival and also at day 5 or 6. Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 will have to report it and isolate for the same period as a community case (at least 10 days).
“Caution has served us well during the past two years and as we continue to move through the Omicron outbreak and peak, we will continue to remove restrictions when advised it is safe to do so – as we always said we would,” Minister Hipkins said.
New Zealand is bringing forward stage two of the border reopening plan
New Zealand released a 5-stage border reopening plan on 3 February 2022.
The first stage of the plan kicked off on 27 February. The second stage, that’ll allow travel to New Zealand from anywhere in the world for fully vaccinated New Zealanders and eligible travellers, was scheduled for 13 March.
The New Zealand government has now confirmed that it’ll bring forward the second stage to Friday, 4 March.
“We are able to take these decisions because we have a highly vaccinated population and good public health restrictions through the COVID-19 Protection Framework in place,” Minister Hipkins said.
Minister Hipkins also said that the New Zealand government will review the timings of the remaining stages of the border reopening plan in the coming weeks. That could mean that we could see New Zealand’s borders reopen fully much sooner than October.
Be the first to know about more positive changes to border restrictions
The two changes the New Zealand government made in February has been welcome news. Especially after almost no movement on COVID-19 regulations and border restrictions after two years!
You can rest assured that we’ll keep you informed of any changes that happens in the future. Hopefully it won’t be too long until we can do so either. Follow us on Facebook or LinkedIn to ensure that you stay in the loop.
