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New Zealand Reopening Borders After Two-Year Pandemic Lockdown

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says New Zealand is “ready to welcome the world back”

New Zealand will start reopening its borders to non-citizens next month and will let tourists enter in May as long as they have proof of a negative COVID test. Borders were closed in March 2020 at the start of a pandemic and have remained shut except for a brief “bubble” arrangement with Australia. Coronavirus case numbers have soared in recent weeks as the Omicron variant took hold, but Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Wednesday confirmed a phased reopening of borders and said New Zealand was “ready to welcome the world back.” “We have now received guidance that it is safe to significantly bring forward the next stage of border reopening work, bringing back our tourists,” she said. Borders will be opened to fully vaccinated tourists from around 60 countries, including the U.S., from May 2.