Jacinda Ardern announces plan to reopen New Zealand
After months of being closed to locals stranded overseas, New Zealand is planning to reopen its borders.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern annouced the plan for New Zealand citizens to return home in a speech on Thursday, and detailed a new scheme to reconnect the country to the rest of the world.
New Zealanders who have been stranded in Australia will be able to return home form February 27th, while citizens suck in other parts of the world will have to wait until March 13th.
The country still boasts strict border policies, with residents located across the world have been forced to enter a lottery system to gain a place in New Zealand's hotel quarantine system.
However, Ms Ardern said the stringent policies would now change.
"The tools we used yesterday to help battle this health crisis, they won't stay the same," she said.
She said there was "no question" the managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) system "has been one of the hardest parts of the pandemic".
From the end of the month, returning New Zealanders will be allowed to isolate at home instead of facing an overcrowded hotel quarantine system.
While this new rule only applies to New Zealand citizens, it is expected Australian tourists and travellers from visa-waiver countries will be allowed in under similar conditions "no later than" July.
Visa holders, including international students and migrant workers, will be allowed in and to isolate at home from mid-April.
Non-visa holders can expect to enter New Zealand in October.
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