New Zealand Allows Travelers Who Have Been Vaccinated For COVID-19 Enter Without Quarantine

An illustration of Auckland Airport, New Zealand. (Wikimedia Commons/Nick-D)

JAKARTAA - New Zealand authorities plan to allow travelers who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 from countries with a low risk of transmission, to enter their territory without quarantine starting next year.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the plan was part of a program to gradually reopen the Kiwi State border, after being closed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

PM Ardern said the government would switch to a new individual risk-based model for quarantine-free travel from the first quarter of 2022 that would establish a low, medium and high risk pathway to the country.

He explained that vaccinated travelers from low-risk countries can travel quarantine-free. Meanwhile, those from medium and high risk countries will have to go through a combination of quarantine measures ranging from self-isolation to spending 14 days in quarantine.

"We are not yet in a position to fully reopen. When we move we will be cautious and cautious, because we want to move with as much confidence and certainty as possible," said New Zealand's PM quoting Reuters on Thursday 12 August.

Ardern further said a pilot self-isolation project would start this year, while a new vaccine testing and screening system would be set up at the border.

Regarding COVID-19 vaccination, New Zealand will also accelerate the rollout of vaccinations for all eligible ages, who can order their COVID-19 vaccine from September 1, PM Ardern said. It will also move to a six-week gap between doses, to ensure more New Zealanders are at least partially vaccinated.

Nevertheless, PM Ardern said the Government of Zealand would maintain its elimination strategy.

"If we stop our elimination approach too soon, there's no turning back. And we could see significant outbreaks here, as experienced by some countries overseas that have opened up early in their vaccination rollouts," he concluded.

To note, PM Jacinda Ardern has won global acclaim for being able to contain local transmission of COVID-19 through a strict elimination strategy. The country has recorded only 2,500 cases and 26 deaths.