New Zealand will continue to pursue its ambitious Covid-19 elimination strategy indefinitely, Jacinda Ardern has said, adding that borders would never be the same as she laid out plans for a cautious, phased, reopening of the country.
The prime minister set out the country’s much-awaited reopening strategy on Thursday, and warned that New Zealand would always need some kind of protection at its border. “Just like after 9/11, the border will never be the same after Covid … things can change, but that doesn’t mean we can’t adapt to them in a way that eventually feels normal again.”
However, she also indicated, that all going well, vaccinated travellers from low-risk countries will be allowed to skip quarantine and enter the country early next year.
There are also plans to speed up the vaccine rollout to protect against the threat of the Delta variant.
New Zealand’s elimination strategy, which has included strict border measures, short and intensive lockdowns and quick contract-tracing methods, has proved successful, with no community cases of the virus in 165 days and a total of 26 deaths since the pandemic began.
On continuing with the elimination strategy, Ardern said the country would take “a careful approach that says, there won’t be zero cases, but when there is one in the community, we crush it”.
“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,” she said.
From October, vaccinated workers will be able to participate in a pilot where they can travel overseas and self-isolate at home, rather than going through the current mandatory two weeks of government-managed isolation (MIQ).
The government will then look at opening quarantine-free travel to some vaccinated travellers from the first quarter of 2022. Vaccinated travellers from low-risk countries could skip isolation entirely, and those from medium-risk would undertake some form of self-isolation or a shorter stay in a quarantine hotel. MIQ would still be required for those coming from high-risk countries, or those who are unvaccinated.
“Our ultimate goal is to get to quarantine-free travel for all vaccinated travellers … But we’re simply not in a position to fully reopen just yet,” Ardern said.
That plan could still change and adapt as new developments came to light over the next six months. “Just like the science, that path will not be absolute. But I think people have come to appreciate that while the future is uncertain and the plan can change – that doesn’t mean we can’t make one,” the prime minister said.
The proposals are contingent on an accelerated vaccine rollout in the next few months. The government also announced it would speed up its first-dose rollout in response to the growing threat posed by the Delta variant. All residents aged over 16 will be able to book in a first dose from 1 September.
The Ministry of Health will achieve this by expanding the allowable time between doses from three to six weeks, to prioritise more people getting a first dose.
“Moving to a longer gap allows us to give a first dose to a larger number of people faster, which means providing more people with partial protection sooner,” the director general of health, Ashley Bloomfield, said. “This is an important part of our being prepared for a possible outbreak of the more infectious Delta variant of the virus.”
As of Wednesday, about 34% of New Zealand’s population aged 16 and over have had a first dose, and 20% are fully vaccinated.
Ardern did not give a figure for what level of vaccination was required for the reopening, but said the country would need good coverage nationwide, including geographic spread and strong vaccination rates among high-risk and vulnerable groups.
“The advice is clear: if we open our borders now we will lose the freedoms and advantages we have achieved so far,” she said.