Staff Writer

New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, last week announced a relaxation of restrictions for fully vaccinated New Zealanders living in Australia, who will now no longer be required to isolate at a formalised venue, and can begin returning from February 27. They will however be required to self-isolate, with this procedure being implemented for New Zealanders from other parts of the world from March 14. A number of non-New Zealand citizens, from the critical skills category, will also be allowed to return, as well as over 5000 students. Again, they have to be fully vaccinated to be considered for return.

New Zealand has had some of the toughest border restrictions, with much success; only around 53 people were killed as a result of Covid 19 complications, with just 17 000 cases detected, so far. Around 93% of New Zealanders over 12 are fully vaccinated.

Speaking to Radio Islam International, Dr Jaafir Oways, a New Zealand based Doctor, argued that the relaxation did mainly concern New Zealanders living in Australia, who were struggling from a lack of quarantine facilities, which will likely be assuaged in light of these new measures. “The only bottleneck in that process [New Zealanders returning from abroad] was the availability of managed quarantine beds, and because they were a limited number that meant that overseas citizens had to wait for quite a period of time in some instances… with the opening of   the restrictions in a few weeks’ time, most people will be able to come back without any problems.” The time for non-new Zealanders to be allowed to travel and return to the country is envisaged to begin in June according to Dr Oways, with the government asserting that the country will fully open around October.

Dr Oways reiterated that there remains large support for the government’s handling of the crisis, especially in relation to the border controls, saying, “I believe the latest polling indicates a general approval of some form of a restriction. Obviously there has been increasing frustration with the MIQ system [managed isolation and quarantine], but on the whole, I think, most New Zealanders  would  agree with how the pandemic was managed in 2020 and 2021.

Last, he asserted that life for Muslims in New Zealand was normal as could be under the circumstances, with Masajid largely being open. In the early stages it was difficult, according to Dr Oways, but nowadays, people can easily interact, especially since the fear of community spread is minimal.