New Zealand: Health restrictions are easing

Our neighbors in Kiwi will ease their health restrictions this week after the number of cases peaked, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Wednesday, estimating residents largely for immunity.

Restrictions on outdoor gatherings will be lifted on Friday, allowing sporting events and concerts to go ahead without restrictions. It added that the vaccination card will not be mandatory from April 4, and most vaccination requirements for certain categories of employees will be abolished.

“So far, more than 500,000 cases of Covid-19 have been reported and modeling experts estimate there are likely to be 1.7 million infections.‘ said Jacinda Ardern, admitting that ‘COVID (was) here to stay“.”This number, combined with the fact that 95% of New Zealanders have been fully vaccinated, means that we now have a high level of herd immunity.‘, justifying the lifting of restrictions.

Last week, the prime minister presented a plan to reopen the borders early. New Zealand has been able to keep Covid-19 at bay for most of the pandemic, thanks to tight border closures and tight restrictions. But Omicron caused a spike in infections, forcing the country to review its strategy.

Nearly 21,000 new cases were recorded on Tuesday, but only 177 coronavirus-related deaths have been counted among the five million population since the start of the pandemic.

Jacinda Ardern said vaccination requirements for the police, military and education sector would be dropped, but kept for health care workers and border workers.

It also denied any link between the move and the protests that blocked traffic around Parliament in Wellington for more than three weeks in late February.