In Feb 2022 Police in New Zealand's capital made more than 100 arrests trying to clear a protest camp outside the parliament where thousands had gathered to rally against Covid-19 restrictions which have been going on for years and don't seem to be working, might be time to give people their freedom back, let people travel to see loved ones and live their lives before the protests get worse... Now looking back In October 2021, New Zealand government officials reported that several locally- acquired Covid-19 cases (specifically the Delta variant) have continued to be detected in the country. From the last time the authorities reviewed the situation (around October 12th 2021), the authorities noted that the infections further spread on the North Island and areas outside Auckland. Fortunately, the authorities noted no new cases of locally-acquired Covid-19 were reported on the South Island in connection with the outbreak. Considering these factors, the government of Australia announced that it would continue to pause green zone flights coming from the New Zealand North Island region until October 31st 2021. As such, the Australian authorities would classify all flights as Red Zone flights until the scheduled date. However, the Australian government announced it had approved the start of green zone travel coming from the New Zealand South Island from Tuesday, October 19 2021.
The action would be commenced subject to specific recommended pre-departure measures. The authorities announced that all passengers would be required to take a pre-departure PCR test. The test would be administered within 72 hours of the flight departure time to Australia. The travelers would have to provide evidence that they'd received full Covid-19 vaccination. This is deemed to be in line with the Australian Technical Advisory Group's definition of "fully vaccinated procedure." Travelers would have to prove that they had not visited New Zealand's North Island at any time in the preceding 14 days. As such, the Australian government would not extend the green zone facility to those who'd been to the New Zealand North Island in the specified period. Further, the government announced that the Australian Health Protection Principal and the Chief Medical Officer would continue to monitor the prevailing situation in New Zealand and furnish revised guidance whenever new information surfaced.
The government promised to carry out a further review of these travel arrangements on October 30th 2021. Meanwhile, the Australian authorities clarified that all passengers traveling on flights coming from the North Island would need to be taken into a 14-day supervised hotel quarantine as so as they arrived in Australia. The travelers would also have to adhere to various State and Territory requirements wherever they entered.
At the same time, authorities in New Zealand announced that they would continue to address the situation while instituting measures to contain the outbreak. The government indicated that more time was needed to track the number of new Covid-19 cases recorded. The authorities said such further information would help determine the degree of the potential risk from people who were traveling quarantine-free from New Zealand's North Island and entering Australia.
In response to the Australian government crackdown, the authorities in New Zealand also announced they were tightening travel rules to curb the spread of coronavirus. The New Zealand government said all air travelers who aren't citizens of New Zealand would be required to furnish evidence of full vaccination before they were granted entry into the country. In line with this, Air New Zealand announced it had introduced a "no jab, no-fly" policy affecting passengers on all international flights beginning February 2021. New Zealand also announced stricter border restrictions as newer cases of Covid-19 were identified in areas that were previously free of the coronavirus. A senior government official said: "We're now introducing a requirement for all air travelers who are 17 years and above, and who're not new New Zealand citizens, to be vaccinated fully before entering New Zealand." This was revealed by New Zealand's Minister for Covid-19 response Mr. Christ Hipkins.
Analysts note that overall, the government of New Zealand has been quite successful in introducing highly successful measures to contain the coronavirus spread. Remarkably, in a sample population of 5 million, the government only 27 deaths from Covid-19. This owed mainly to strict border controls, lockdowns, and subsequent resumption of pre-pandemic life. But the increased border restrictions came as the neighbouring Raglan town, and the city of Hamilton were put into a 5-day lockdown. Only essential movement was permitted during the lockdown. This happened following two new reports of people who'd tested positive for Covid-19. The authorities assured citizens that the two cases were not connected to the latest Covid-19 outbreak in Auckland, some 160 kilometers away.