New Zealand will lift COVID-19 vaccine mandates and social distancing measures after the Omicron peak has passed, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday, as protesters occupying the parliament grounds again clashed with police.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern urged New Zealanders on Sunday to unite in their battle against COVID-19, as the pandemic forced the country to celebrate its national Waitangi Day online.
New Zealand on Thursday announced a phased reopening of its border that has been largely closed for two years, but the travel and airline industry said much more was needed to revive the Pacific island nation's struggling tourism sector.
New Zealand will impose mask rules and limit gathering from midnight on Sunday after a cluster of nine cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant showed community transmission from the North to South islands.
New Zealand's government said Monday it would not ask for British DJ Dimension to be prosecuted for breaking Covid isolation rules and creating an Omicron infection scare.