New Zealand to ease health restrictions

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Wednesday New Zealand will ease its health restrictions this week after the number of cases peaked, largely appreciating the population with impunity.

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Jacinda Ardern announced that 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 1.7 million infections.she said, acknowledging thatCOVID (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.

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Last week, Jacinda Ardern presented a plan to reopen borders early. New Zealand has managed to keep Covid away from the majority of the pandemic with strict border closures and strict 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 would be dropped, but kept for health care workers and border workers.

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