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New Zealand reopens borders in support of weakened Jacinda Ardern

New Zealand will gradually reopen its borders to nationals, workers and international visitors, Jacinda Ardern said, a week after a poll showed support for her as prime minister had dropped. lowest level since she was elected in 2017.

Pressure on the Ardern government increased last week when it was reported that Charlotte Bellis, a pregnant journalist from New Zealand, had been unable to fly home from Afghanistan to give birth. Bellis has since been given a place to return to, but thousands of New Zealanders are still stranded abroad.

New Zealand has adopted one of the strictest border policies in the world to prevent the spread of Covid-19. This approach proved popular in the early days of the pandemic, but patience wore off after a planned reopening of the border in January was delayed by the arrival of the coronavirus. Infectious strain of Omicron.

A poll by 1 News Kantar showed that support for Ardern as leader had dropped to 35%, although it was still higher than Christopher Luxon, the leader of the opposition, at 17%. The poll also showed a sharp drop in confidence in the country economic outlookwith nearly half of those surveyed currently being pessimistic.

New Zealand will allow citizens to be vaccinated based in Australia to return to from 27 February and has dropped quarantine restrictions in favor of self-isolation and rapid antigen testing. It will be phased in for its citizens in other countries, skilled workers and students in the coming weeks and months, with a full reopening to non-citizens in the coming weeks and months. October.

“It’s time to move on,” Ardern said on Thursday, adding that the gradual approach would allow more New Zealanders to receive boosters for protection from Omicron. Positive cases are running at a rate of about 140 a day.

New Zealand journalist Charlotte Bellis poses with her partner Jim Huylebroek in Kabul, Afghanistan

New Zealand journalist Charlotte Bellis poses for a photo with her partner Jim Huylebroek in Kabul, Afghanistan © Charlotte Bellis/AP

Ian Taylor, chief executive officer of Animation Research, a Dunedin-based graphics firm that works with media teams for sporting events, said some businesses have begun to move operations overseas. out of frustration with sealed borders.

He added that refusing to allow citizens to return to New Zealand was a bigger problem, as some families with young children had been separated for two years.

“As a nation, we continue to talk about leading the world in keeping our people safe,” Taylor said. “But we also lead in terms of our citizens being stranded abroad. That is crime. ”

Ardern tightened restrictions in New Zealand last month and delay her wedding after the first cases of Omicron were detected in the country.

Kevin Ward, chief executive of the Airports Association of NZ, has called on the government to reconsider whether self-isolation is still appropriate, with more and more countries allowing quarantine-free travel.

He said demand from Australian tourists – excluding those visiting family – was estimated at just 7% of 2019 levels this year.

It makes no sense to expect self-isolation to still be required for travel to New Zealand later this year when the trans-Tasman market reopens, he said.

Shares of Air New Zealand jumped 3% after the airline opened bookings into the country following Ardern’s announcement.

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