New Zealand will pursue its plans of reopening next year despite the collective fears over the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron.
The NZ government just announced that international students would be able to return to the country in 2022. And per the country's latest announcements at the time of posting, traveling to the country is unlikely to be affected amid the rise of the new variant of concern.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was quoted in a Reuters report on November 29 that the country will move into a system of living with the COVID-19 virus later this week despite the new Omicron variant posing a fresh health threat to the world.
There were no cases of the Omicron variant in New Zealand at this stage but the developing global situation showed why a cautious approach was needed at the borders, she said.
New Zealand has some of the toughest border controls in the world. Traveling to New Zealand is not expected to resume for international students until April 30. COVID-19 response minister Chris Hipkins said previously that there could be a possibility that “bespoke” arrangements would allow international students and Australians to travel before April 30 but could offer no guarantees. Officials were confident the variant hadn’t yet entered New Zealand as whole-genome sequencing, which is undertaken routinely on all border-related cases, has shown all had the Delta variant, Hipkins was quoted saying by RNZ over the weekend.
“New Zealand remains in a very good position to prevent this variant entering the country and deal with it if it does appear at our border. Our MIQ facilities and frequent testing of arrivals continue to serve us well.
The country has previously announced it will reopen its borders to vaccinated visitors in the opening months of 2022, for the first time since prime minister Ardern announced their snap closure in the first month of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A year and a half later since closing down from the world, it looks like the island nation, known for how well it has handled this pandemic, will be pushing with its plans to finally reopen. ■
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