New Zealand tightens travel rules as COVID spreads | Al Jazeera

New Zealand has announced tighter border restrictions, as new cases of COVID-19 emerged in areas previously free of the coronavirus.

“We are introducing the requirement for air travellers aged 17 and over, who are not New Zealand citizens, to be fully vaccinated to enter New Zealand,” Christ Hipkins, the minister for COVID-19 response, said on Sunday.

The national flag carrier Air New Zealand also announced it was introducing a “no jab, no fly” policy for passengers on all international flights from February 1.

The country has been hugely successful at containing the virus – reporting just 27 deaths in a population of five million – thanks to tight border controls and lockdowns, allowing pre-pandemic life to mostly resume.