Jacinda Ardern has declared it “time to safely turn the page” on New Zealand’s Covid-19 restrictions, scrapping all but a handful of remaining rules. New Zealand, which once eliminated the virus through the toughest pandemic rules in the world, has made relaxations similar to Australian or European conditions.
Mask-wearing will no longer be mandatory in public places, and the last vaccine mandates will be ditched in two weeks under sweeping changes announced by the prime minister on Monday. However, the government is sticking by a seven-day isolation period for people with virus, defying calls to shorten isolation to five days.
New Zealand suffered a major Omicron wave during winter that killed more Kiwis than any other outbreak of the pandemic. The death toll is now 1950 people, growing from about 50 at the turn of the year, and 500 four months ago. However, both case numbers and the government’s key metric – hospitalisations – have dropped sharply in recent weeks, giving the government confidence to move past onerous restrictions.