The group said that elimination was the best path forward, though it couldn't be maintained until the vaccine rollout was complete and as many people as possible were fully vaccinated. Seymour said the re-opening of the borders should begin next year regardless of how many people were and were not vaccinated. Travellers should be required to be fully vaccinated - unless they are children accompanying the adults - and to have a negative pre-departure test, an on-arrival test, and possibly a day 3 test. As arrangements are fine-tuned, the borders could be opened up more, including to quarantine-free travel for the fully vaccinated. These could be stamped out quickly if there was a high proportion of the population vaccinated, alongside testing and contact-tracing.

Source: New Zealand Herald August 10, 2021 23:48 UTC