New Zealand will fully open international borders to visitors from the end of July

This is information from the Prime Minister New Zealand Jacinda Ardern offered.

According to the above announcement, the country’s international borders will be reopened two months earlier than the New Zealand Government’s plan to lift the remaining COVID-19 prevention restrictions.

New Zealand in early May began welcoming tourists from more than 50 countries including the US, Canada, UK and Japan for the first time in more than two years, after lifting restrictions on visitors from Australia and Europe before that.

Most visitors and citizens returning home upon entry into New Zealand are still required to provide a negative COVID-19 test result prior to departure.

Speaking in Auckland city, Prime Minister Ardern said that the reopen the border This will help alleviate the shortage of skilled workers and restore the tourism industry in this country.

New Zealand has managed and controlled the COVID-19 epidemic mainly based on measures border control Strict. The South Pacific country has only recorded nearly 850 deaths from COVID-19 throughout the pandemic. However, the country’s disease control measures have severely damaged many economic sectors, especially tourism, and left thousands of New Zealanders stranded abroad.

New Zealand has announced plans to fully reopen its borders from July for the first time in more than two years. (Photo: Bloomberg)

“I think many New Zealanders are looking forward to traveling internationally and welcoming tourists here,” Michael Plank, a statistician at the University of Canterbury, told Al Jazeera. “COVID-19 will still be a public health issue that needs to be managed with care. However, now that most of our population is vaccinated and COVID-19 is widespread, it’s limiting. Travel is no longer effective as a disease control measure.”

Eve Lawrence, General Manager of Haka Tourism Group in Auckland, said the announcement represented an “important step in the right direction”, but COVID-19 quarantine rules continue to be a roadblock. tourism industry in this country.

Ms Lawrence told Al Jazeera news agency: “The barriers we are facing are pre-departure COVID-19 testing, the cost of this testing and the lengthy pre-departure declaration process. We really need to ease the pre-departure procedures, get rid of the testing so many people still see New Zealand as a viable travel option this year.”

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