New Zealand Outlines COVID-19 Plan to Reconnect with World
Voice of America
SYDNEY - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said her government will continue to pursue its ambitious COVID-19 elimination strategy indefinitely. On Thursday, she outlined a cautious and staged approach to reopening the country’s borders to some foreign travelers early next year.
New Zealand, which has some of the toughest COVID-19 controls in the world, closed its borders to most foreign nationals in March of last year. The closure is part of a strategy to eliminate the virus that also includes strict lockdowns and mandatory hotel quarantine for New Zealanders returning from overseas. The borders will remain closed for the rest of this year, and their reopening depends on the success of New Zealand’s vaccination rollout. The government said this would represent a shift from the “collective armor” of travel restrictions to the “individual armor” of inoculations. No timetable has been set, but it is likely that next year, vaccinated visitors from low-risk countries -- those considered to have COVID-19 under control -- will not have to go into hotel quarantine in New Zealand. Unvaccinated travelers and all visitors from high-risk countries would face a mandatory 14-day hotel isolation.French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visit the memorial center during the 80th anniversary of the massacre of 643 persons by Nazi German forces, in Oradour-sur-Glane, France, on June 10, 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron (2ndL), the Mayor of Oradour-sur-Glane (L), and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (2ndR) walk along a street in Oradour-sur-Glane, June 10, 2024. French President Macron (L) and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier stand together as they pay their respects during a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre, June 10, 2024.
Swiss President Viola Amherd, center, speaks during a press conference ahead of the Ukraine peace conference being organized by Switzerland, in Bern on June 10, 2024. Ukrainian flags flutter over hundreds graves of Ukrainian servicemen killed in fighting since the Russian invasion, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on June 6, 2024.