New Zealand travelers who visited Sydney Airport in Australia last October. 〈Photo = Reuters Yonhap News〉New Zealand and Australia have agreed to travel between the two countries without quarantine starting on the 19th local time.
According to major foreign media including Reuters on the 5th local time, New Zealand Prime Minister Jewsinda Aden said that the two countries had agreed. “This could mean that we are leading the world.”
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison welcomed New Zealand’s decision and called it the first step back to pre-Corona.
New Zealanders have visited most Australian states without quarantine since October last year, but Australians had to quarantine when visiting New Zealand. This agreement allows visitors to visit without quarantine.
But there are conditions. First of all, only travelers who have been in Australia for more than 14 days are not subject to quarantine conditions. In addition, there should be no cold or flu symptoms, and all passengers must wear a mask. You will also need to provide the New Zealand authorities with information on where to stay.
“If the outbreak reappears, the flight will be suspended for a period of time,” Arden said.
Meanwhile, New Zealand statistics show that in 2019, more than 1.5 million Australians visited New Zealand. This is 40% of all entrants. The contribution to the economy amounted to 2.7 billion New Zealand dollars (about 2.2 trillion won). Prime Minister Arden predicts that the move will reach 80% of 2019 levels by early 2022.
So far, about 29,000 people in Australia have been infected with Corona 19, of which 909 have died. New Zealand has recorded over 2,100 confirmed cases and 26 deaths.