New Zealand, Cook Islands to Form Travel Bubble in Early 2021

(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand and the Cook Islands have agreed to open up quarantine-free travel between the two countries starting in the first quarter of 2021, Prime Ministers Jacinda Ardern and Mark Brown said in a joint statement Saturday.

New Zealand officials will work to implement quarantine-free access for visitors from the Cook Islands while final preparations are made for two-way travel, the statement said. The Cook Islands remains free of Covid-19, it said.

This will be the first reciprocal travel bubble New Zealand has formed after closing its borders earlier this year to eliminate local Covid-19 transmission. While New Zealand nationals can visit Australia quarantine-free, a two-way bubble has been delayed due to Australia’s higher tolerance for community transmission.

Currently, anyone entering New Zealand must go into quarantine for two weeks in a government-run isolation facility.

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