New Zealand advances the complete reopening of its borders

New Zealanda country that applied one of the strictest measures in the world against the pandemic of COVID-19will fully reopen its international borders on August 1, two months ahead of schedule, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Wednesday.

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Travelers from any country will be able to enter New Zealand territory from 11:59 p.m. local time on July 31, although the authorities still stress the need for a vaccination certificate to enter or without vaccination but with an approved exemption.

The measure also gives the green light to cruise ships entering the country from that date and the resumption of all teaching activities for international students, according to the Wellington Executive statement.

Ardern stressed that the country will then be “completely open” and that this measure will help companies alleviate the usual shortage of skilled labor in certain sectors.

New Zealand has sealed its borders since March 2020 and even delayed the return of its own nationals by imposing a daily entry quota in order to prevent the virus from entering and spreading through the country.

In early February, the authorities announced a five-stage reopening plan that began on February 28 by lifting the daily limit for the return of New Zealanders and that initially ended in October, but now brought forward to August 1.

New Zealand, which registered less than a hundred cases of COVID-19 in January and has vaccinated 96% of the target population with two doses, reported 8,047 new infections this Wednesday and accumulates more than one million cases, including 855 deaths, since the start of the pandemic.

Despite the high vaccination rate, a large anti-vaccine movement camped in front of Parliament between February and until the beginning of March, when they were evicted by the Police, in protest at the mandatory inoculation of the serum against COVID-19 in some labor sectors. and other measures against the pandemic.

Source: Elcomercio

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