New Zealand says its borders may remain closed through 2021
New Zealand's borders are likely to remain closed until the end of 2021.
In a press conference in Wellington on Tuesday, New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that the borders will be "impacted for much of this year."
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Ardern is reportedly taking a cautious approach both to reopening New Zealand and rolling out its mass immunization programs. The vaccine rollout will have a direct effect on the timeline for opening up the country's borders and restarting foreign tourism.
"We either need the confidence that being vaccinated means you don't pass COVID-19 on to others -- and we don't know that yet -- or we need enough of our population to be vaccinated and protected that people can safely re-enter New Zealand," Ardern said. "Both possibilities will take some time".
Following the press conference, Ardern took to her Instagram to explain the country's vaccine rollout program.
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Ardern took the decision to close her country's borders in March 2020. The country has since been praised by the WHO for its handling of the pandemic.
New Zealand has seen one case of community spread in months and two cases at its managed isolation facilities. Widespread test and trace efforts are being carried out in the Northland area where the single case of community spread was discovered. The situation has been deemed to be under control.
While travel remains off the cards to most of the world, New Zealand will continue to pursue the trans-Tasman travel bubble with Australia as well some island nations in the Pacific.
Related: 9 reasons New Zealand should be on your bucket list
While the country's economy escaped significant damage, its travel and tourism industry is suffering.
With the announcement to most likely keep its borders closed this year, New Zealand will be joining its neighbor Australia, which said last week that its borders will also be remaining closed for much of 2021.
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The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
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- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
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- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month