New Zealand unveils path to reopening international borders

New Zealand will adopt a phased approach to reopening its borders in 2022 based on accelerated vaccinations and categorizing travelers as high, low or medium risk. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Thursday that New Zealanders of all eligible ages would be able to book in their jab by September 1 and the wait between Pfizer doses would lengthen to six weeks to ensure more people were partially vaccinated. This means bringing forward eligibility dates so that people 40 plus can be vaccinated from August 18 and people over 30 from August 25 everyone eligible from September 1. Once enough people are vaccinated, the NZ Government will move ahead with the phased introduction of an “individual risk-based approach” in 2022. READ: JetBlue launches A321 trans-Atlantic services. This will involve the creation of low-, medium- and high-risk pathways which will depend on where a traveler is coming from and their vaccination status. Vaccinated travelers from low-risk countries will be allowed quarantine-free entry. Those entering New Zealand from medium-risk countries will need to self-isolate, but the “managed isolation and quarantine” could be reduced for those who are vaccinated. It is this pathway that will be the subject of the self-isolation pilot program, expected to run in October and November. “The High-Risk pathway will see the continuation of a full 14 days in MIQ and testing for unvaccinated travelers and any traveler, including vaccinated travelers, who have been in very high risk or high-risk countries,’’ Ardern said. “This individual risk-based approach requires new systems to be set up. We will use the remainder of 2021 to continue to prepare for the operation of borders under this system. “This work includes ongoing work on the development of a traveler health declaration system, investigating new testing technology for rapid testing on arrival at airports and reliable pre-departure testing as well as piloting self-isolation arrangements for some New Zealanders and strengthening other public health measures such as contact tracing.” The release of the plan followed a forum on reconnecting New Zealand to the world in Wellington and the publication of the Strategic COVID-19 Public Health Advisory Group’s advice to the government on Wednesday. Ardern said New Zealand was in a strong position with no COVID in the community and an economy more open than most. “The plan announced today is informed by the best available scientific evidence and public health advice. It will allow us to capture the opportunities vaccination brings, while protecting the gains New Zealanders have worked so hard for,’’ she said. “Key to this is maintaining our elimination strategy. The advice is clear: If we open our borders now we will lose the freedoms and advantages we have achieved so far. “If we give up our elimination approach too soon there is no going back, and we could see significant breakouts here like some countries overseas are experiencing who have opened up early in their vaccination rollout.” Australian  Prime Minister Scott Morrison had previously announced a roadmap to reopen Australia's borders in four stages once vaccination rates reach 70 percent. READ: Qantas' giant vaccination carrot: a year's unlimited flying.