All air vacationers who are usually not New Zealand residents should be absolutely vaccinated to enter the nation.
New Zealand has introduced tighter border restrictions, as new instances of COVID-19 emerged in areas beforehand freed from the coronavirus.
“We’re introducing the requirement for air travellers aged 17 and over, who are usually not New Zealand residents, to be absolutely vaccinated to enter New Zealand,” Christ Hipkins, the minister for COVID-19 response, stated on Sunday.
The nationwide flag service Air New Zealand additionally introduced it was introducing a “no jab, no fly” coverage for passengers on all worldwide flights from February 1.
The nation has been massively profitable at containing the virus – reporting simply 27 deaths in a inhabitants of 5 million – because of tight border controls and lockdowns, permitting pre-pandemic life to principally resume.
However the upped border restrictions come as Hamilton metropolis and neighbouring Raglan city had been put right into a five-day lockdown, with solely important motion permitted, after two individuals examined optimistic.
The instances are usually not believed to be linked to the most recent outbreak in Auckland, 160 kilometres away.
Town of two million has been in lockdown for practically seven weeks as officers grapple with an outbreak of the extremely transmissible Delta variant that has to this point contaminated 1,320 individuals.
About 2,000 individuals attended an anti-lockdown rally in Auckland over the weekend, with Jacinda Ardern describing the demonstration as “an entire slap within the face” for individuals who had been abiding by the strict guidelines banning public gatherings.
“It was unlawful and in addition it was morally mistaken,” the prime minister stated.
New Zealand is pursuing a “COVID zero” elimination technique.
It had been freed from neighborhood transmission for six months earlier than the most recent Auckland outbreak.