Tourists could soon visit New Zealand as border reopening set to be fast-tracked

The New Zealand prime minister will announce a new timetable to relax New Zealand's COVID-19 border controls and allow tourists to visit again.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Source: AP / Mark Mitchell

A serious softening of New Zealand's borders is on the way — and soon.

On Monday morning, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told TVNZ an announcement would be made this week for a new reopening schedule that will end most COVID-19 border restrictions.

"Australians generally were due to come in in July, visa waiver countries as well thereafter. We're looking to bring those forward because we believe we can safely do so," Ms Ardern said.

"We'll be looking to make announcements on the timeframe of that this week."

New Zealand has maintained a hard border for almost two years as the key line in its COVID-19 defence, producing the lowest rates of serious illness and death in the developed world.

However, the arrival of Omicron has spiked cases, and brought an acceptance that a strict border regime is doing more harm than good.

So far, New Zealand has taken the first two steps of its border reopening plan — opening to Kiwis in Australia and further abroad, as well as highly-paid workers in critical industries, and working holiday makers. Source: Getty / James D. Morgan

Tourism operators, separated families and New Zealanders locked out of their own country have petitioned for the dismantling of the borders for some time.

Ms Ardern's government committed to a five-step border reopening strategy last month, but junked the plan shortly after when Omicron cases began to rise.

So far, it has taken the first two steps — opening to New Zealanders in Australia and further abroad, as well as highly-paid workers in critical industries, and working holiday makers.

Next comes visa holders and international students, and then will come tourists in Australia and elsewhere.

"We've been gradually reopening in the safest way possible," Ms Ardern said.

"The point we've come off the peak of Omicron is when the experts have said it will be possible to reopen the borders more broadly."

New Zealand is currently in the middle of its biggest COVID-19 outbreak of the pandemic.

COVID-19 hospitalisations are at an all-time high of 896, while the rolling seven-day case average remains around 20,000.

Ms Ardern says she's using hospitalisations a her key metric for deciding the peak of the outbreak.

Hospitalisations have risen six of the seven days last week, though some modellers believe they will begin to drop soon based on dropping cases in Auckland, the centre of the outbreak.