New Zealand said this Tuesday (21), that it is delaying the gradual reopening of the border by about a month due to concerns about the Ômicron variant.
“Waiting until the end of February will increase New Zealand’s overall protection and slow down the eventual spread of Omicron,” Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said in a statement.
“There’s no doubt that this is disappointing and will affect a lot of vacation plans, but it’s important to define these changes clearly today so they have time to consider those plans.”
Hipkins said the New Zealand cabinet agreed to a set of other precautionary measures to keep Ômicron out of the region. These include reducing the interval between the second dose of vaccine and a booster dose from six months to four months, and increasing the quarantine time for travelers returning from travel from seven to 10 days in controlled isolation.
“Currently, returnees serve the last three days of isolation at home. Bringing these last three days back to controlled isolation reduces the risk of the virus entering the community,” said Hipkins.
Additional protections include a reduction from 72 hours to 48 hours for taking and submitting the Covid-19 test for travelers.
This Tuesday (21), New Zealand reported 28 new locally transmitted cases and five imported Covid-19 cases, according to its Ministry of Health.
This content was originally created in English.
original version
Reference: CNN Brasil
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