New Zealand Imposes Travel Restrictions on "very High-Risk Countries" over COVID-19

New Zealand categorized India, Brazil, Papua New Guinea and Pakistan as "very high-risk countries" to "significantly reduce the number of infected people flying to New Zealand," COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said on Friday.

In the latest stage of evolution at the border, the government has created a new "very high-risk country" category that will make the border stronger, Hipkins said in a statement.

"This is in response to rapidly increasing rates of infection in parts of the globe and based on what is happening in the country, the prevalence of COVID-19 variants of concern, the public health measures the country has in place and the risk to our border," he said.

The new category comes into force from 11:59 p.m. on April 28. Countries have initially been designated very high-risk where there have been more than 50 cases of COVID-19 per 1,000 arrivals to New Zealand from those countries in 2021, and where there are more than 15 travelers on average per month, he said.

India, Brazil, Papua New Guinea and Pakistan are the countries that currently meet that threshold, and as a result, travelers from those countries will be temporarily restricted to New Zealand citizens, their partners and children, and parents of children who are New Zealand citizens, according to the minister.

"From India alone, this is expected to reduce the number of potential positive cases coming to New Zealand by an estimated 75 percent," Hipkins said.

All travelers from very high-risk countries will require evidence of a negative PCR test from an accredited laboratory within 72 hours prior to travel, he said.

"I want to stress this was not an easy decision. It was based entirely on current risk assessment and will be reviewed regularly," he said, adding there will be an exceptions process on humanitarian grounds.