A quarantine-free travel arrangement between New Zealand and Australia could be a "world-first", Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Tuesday, with reports suggesting borders between both nations may open as soon as the end of the week.
Australia and New Zealand have managed the Covid-19 crisis more successfully than most other developed nations after closing their international borders to non-citizens and permanent residents very early during the pandemic.
Australia has recorded about 29,400 Covid-19 cases and 909 deaths since the pandemic began, while New Zealand has had just over 2,100 confirmed cases and 26 deaths.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said a two-way corridor for trans-Tasman travel will begin on the night of April 18.
"I can confirm that quarantine-free travel will begin in just under two weeks, at 11:59pm on April 18," Ardern announced after the date was confirmed by her cabinet.
"Our public health approach has meant we are now able to take this next step, and it's a world-first," Ardern told reporters in Wellington.
"I don't know of any other countries in the world who are maintaining an elimination strategy and opening up with another country, so it is a remarkable thing."
Some Australian states have opened their borders to New Zealanders since last October, but it has been a one-way arrangement due to sporadic outbreaks in some Australian cities.
(With Reuters inputs)
(Published 06 April 2021, 02:51 IST)
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