AUCKLAND: New Zealand scrapped mask wearing rules and vaccine mandates on Monday, bringing an end to some of the toughest COVID-19 pandemic rules in the world about two years after they were put in place.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a weekly news conference that it was time to safely turn the page on the country’s COVID-19 management and live without the extraordinary measures it previously used.
“Finally, rather than feeling that COVID dictates what happens to us, our lives, and our futures, we take back control,” Ardern said. “For the first time in two years we can approach summer with the much needed certainty New Zealanders and business need, helping to drive greater economic activity critical to our economic recovery,” she added. –Agencies
