New Zealand government response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern admitted on Oct. 4 that New Zealand's widely praised "COVID zero" strategy had failed to halt a stubborn outbreak in Auckland and said a new approach was needed.

The hardline elimination policy had largely protected the country from the pandemic, with residents enjoying a near-normal domestic life alongside tight restrictions on international borders.

New Zealand will almost completely lift its blockade due to the coronavirus this week, with only the epicenter of the infection in the Auckland country remaining under strict restrictions, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday.

A coronavirus case that plunged New Zealand into a snap national lockdown was confirmed as the Delta variant Wednesday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said, as four more cases emerged.

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Ardern said one of the new cases was a nurse at Auckland Hospital, which had been placed in "internal lockdown" while all staff and patients were tested.

New Zealand suspended quarantine-free travel with Australia's Victoria state over a new coronavirus cluster on May 25, the fourth time the trans-Tasman travel bubble has been disrupted since it opened last month.

The Commission calls on EU Member States to take coordinated action to further restrict travel from India on a temporary basis, with a view to limiting the spread of the B.1.617.2 variant first detected in India.

New Zealand has approved quarantine-free travel with Australia, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on April 6, completing a two-way corridor for travel between the largely COVID-free neighbors.

"I can confirm that quarantine-free travel will begin in just under two weeks, at 11:59 p.m. on April 18," Ardern announced after the date was confirmed by her cabinet.