New Zealand retreats from plan to open borders
Minister leading Covid response questions wisdom of move in current ‘Delta environment’
New Zealand’s government is rethinking plans to reopen the country’s border as ministers scramble to stamp out an outbreak of the Delta variant of Covid-19.
The proposed phased reopening of the country was set out by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern last month, when New Zealand was a “Delta-free haven”, as Bloomberg noted at the time. Ardern suggested that vaccinated travellers from low-risk countries would be allowed to skip quarantine and enter the country from early next year.
“We will use the remainder of 2021 to continue to prepare for the operation of borders under this system,” she said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But now “the likelihood of New Zealand reopening its border to the world any time soon is looking less promising”, as local cases of the highly infectious Delta variant increase, said The Guardian.
The country recorded 15 new coronavirus infections in the community on Wednesday, bringing the total reported during the most recent outbreak to 855.
New Zealand has won widespread praise for its zero-Covid policy, which saw Ahern declaring in April 2020 that the coronavirus had been “eliminated” from her country. The border has been closed to foreigners since the pandemic began and all returning residents have been forced to stay in managed isolation facilities for two weeks.
In July, New Zealand suspended a quarantine-free travel bubble with neighbouring Australia in response to Delta-driven outbreaks there.
Amid rising confidence about the success of the restrictions, the government in Wellington had planned to begin a phased reopening that would “stratify countries based on risk”, Chris Hipkins, the minister leading New Zealand’s Covid response, told Parliament yesterday.
But in the “Delta environment, we actually have to consider whether, in fact, that’s an appropriate thing to do [because] all countries, all people coming into the country at this point, have a degree of risk associated with them”, he continued.
Despite such concerns, internal restrictions are being eased as Covid case numbers begin to decline. However, while “a return to zero case days appears feasible”, according to the Daily Mail, Ardern this week cautioned against complacency, calling for compliance with Covid rules and increased community testing.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
-
Today's political cartoons - March 16, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - pointed commentary, Haiti in trouble, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 hilarious cartoons about the RNC's MAGA takeover
Cartoons Artists take on RNC funding, Lara Trump, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Trump's presidential run: a bad bet for Republicans?
Talking Point The GOP is taking a 'big gamble' on former president's 2024 White House bid
By The Week UK Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Gaza hospital blast: What the video evidence shows about who's to blame
Speed Read Nobody wants to take responsibility for the deadly explosion in the courtyard of Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital. Roll the tape.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Giraffe poo seized after woman wanted to use it to make a necklace
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Helicopter sound arouses crocodiles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Woman sues Disney over 'injurious wedgie'
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Emotional support alligator turned away from baseball stadium
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Europe's oldest shoes found in Spanish caves
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Artworks stolen by Nazis returned to heirs of cabaret performer
It wasn't all bad Good news stories from the past seven days
By The Week Staff Published