Prime Minister’s post-cabinet speech notes on border/ traveller isolation changes

Today I am joined by Professor David Skegg, the Chair of our Covid-19 Public Health Advisory Group to update on decisions made by Cabinet on isolation requirements for people entering New Zealand.

Over the past week the pandemic has rapidly evolved, going from 2365 cases a day to over 14,000 today. And as the pandemic is evolving so too is our response.

We are now in phase three of our Omicron plan, and that means we have changed how people are tested with widespread Rapid Antigen testing now our main form of test, we’ve narrowed isolation requirements to only those sharing households, we’ve altered our contact tracing system to focus on high risk exposures and focused care in the community to those most in need of support through their isolating period.

We have also changed the way we are doing things at the border.

At the beginning of February we set out our plans for reopening. We said two important things at the time.

We said that as case numbers increased, the impact of new cases at the border would be less pronounced. You’ll remember that when we shared our reopening plans, we had less than 150 COVID cases a day. Allowing people to enter New Zealand with no self-isolation would have had a dramatic impact at that time.

And so to my second point, we set out that we would actively monitor the need for and the value of self-isolation. The strong advice from our public officials at that time was that we still needed it to manage our way through Omicron but that they expected there was a not too distant future where that would no longer be the case.

And so now, a few short weeks later, we’ve asked our experts to take another look and received that advice back at 4pm yesterday. That advice is being released this afternoon by Professor David Skegg,

As a result of that advice I can announce today, Cabinet has agreed that at 11.59pm Wednesday 2^nd of March vaccinated travellers entering New Zealand will no longer need to self-isolate.

That means that from this Wednesday Kiwis and eligible travellers arriving from Australia, will no longer need to self-isolate for seven days.

In making this decision we have carefully balanced other factors. The first is that our borders are still gradually opening. Our staged reopening remains and I’ll speak to that in a moment.

The second is that testing will remain critical, as Professor Skegg has set out.

And so we will still require every traveller to undertake a rapid antigen tests on the day they arrive and on Day 5/6. All positive RATs must be registered and followed up with a PCR test.

This is different to the advice for those currently in the community who test positive with a RAT who don’t need a PCR follow up, and that’s because our border will be the first place we will see any new variants and so we need to keep whole genome sequencing these results so we know what strains of the virus are entering the country. All incoming travellers of course will also still be required to undertake a pre-departure test before they get on a plane.

Our MIQ will remain in place for some. All unvaccinated travellers will still need to enter MIQ. We have asked for advice on whether this requirement needs to remain going forward in the longer term. And while we still face a global pandemic, MIQ is a useful tool for us to have available, even if it is not used at the scale we have seen in the past.

And finally, to the question of phasing of our border reopening.

You’ll remember that we set out 5 steps for travellers coming to New Zealand between the end of February and October.

The first group is New Zealanders coming from Australia which started today. The second group, step 2, is made up of returning Kiwis and eligible critical workers from the rest of the world and was scheduled to start from the 13th of March.

Today I can confirm that New Zealanders in Step 2 will now be able to arrive from 11.59 this Friday March 4 and in line with today’s decision will not need to self-isolate.

Due to immigration processes other non-New Zealanders who are part of Step 2 such as working holiday visa holders and RSE workers will still be eligible to arrive from 13^th March, but will not have to isolate.

As for the remaining steps, which include other visa holders in April, Australians and visitors from visa waiver countries by July, and all others from October, Cabinet will shortly consider bringing these steps forward. The advice from our experts is that getting over the peak of Omicron should be factored into this timing.

But, as a result of the decision taken today, I can assure you now that as we open, all vaccinated travellers who test negative on arrival with a RAT will be able to immediately enjoy New Zealand and all it has to offer and not have to isolate.

I know this will be welcome news to the members of our team overseas, eager to travel home to see loved ones as soon as possible. We can’t wait to see you. It’s also a huge milestone for our tourism sector and regional economies.

New Zealanders have achieved so much over the last few years. Our successful elimination of COVID saved lives, our economy is delivering record low unemployment and growth higher than many, and our high rate of vaccination means we can make decisions like today’s knowing we have a strong blanket of protection against the virus.

As I’ve said many times through this pandemic, New Zealand has and will continue to forge our own path and strategy. Caution has served us well.

As we continue to move through the Omicron outbreak and peak, we will continue to remove restrictions when advised it is safe to do so, and today, that is what we have been told, and it is why we are acting.