New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern said Thursday that strict border controls would remain in 2021 but she hoped to cautiously reopen to the rest of the world in 2022 while maintaining the country’s virus-free status.
She said the changes would be “careful and deliberate” to avoid allowing variants such as the highly contagious Delta into New Zealand, where there is no local transmission and domestic life is close to normal.
“Rushing could see us in the situation many other countries are finding themselves in,” she said, citing an outbreak of the Delta variant in neighboring Australia that has forced its two largest cities into lockdown.
Ardern won widespread praise for her decisive early response to the pandemic, resulting in just 26 deaths in a population of 5 million.
The center-left leader has faced calls to ease border measures from sectors such as healthcare, hospitality and agriculture, which are facing acute labor shortages due to the absence of foreign workers.
Ardern said vaccinations would ramp up with the goal of offering jabs to all the population by the end of 2021.
“Vaccines, border testing and maybe a bit of monitoring of symptoms when you travel will eventually become our baseline. And we will get used to it,” she said.
A light show is held to celebrate the beginning of Matariki (Maori New Year) in Auckland, New Zealand, June 19, 2021. Thousands of people turned out on Saturday night to watch Vector Lights bring Auckland’s iconic Harbour Bridge to life to celebrate the beginning of Matariki (Maori New Year).Photo:Xinhua
