Cook Islands date revealed
Quarantine-free two-way travel starts on May 17
New Zealand’s quarantinefree travel bubble with the Cook Islands will begin on May 17. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed the start date at a postCabinet press conference yesterday afternoon.
This will be based on a clear set of criteria being met, she said. The health and safety of the people of the Cook Islands had been paramount in all the work to ready the bubble.
“Two-way quarantine-free travel is a significant step in both countries’ Covid-19 recovery, and a direct result of both New Zealand and the Cook Islands’ successful response to the pandemic,” Ardern said.
“It will mean families can reconnect, commercial arrangements can resume and Kiwis can take a much-welcomed winter break and support the Cook Islands’ tourism sector and recovery.
“That we can take this step in our recovery so soon after opening the transtasman bubble highlights the benefits of our Covid-19 management, and the opportunities it is now providing New Zealand and our neighbours.”
Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown said: “The confirmation of May 17 for the commencement of two-way quarantine-free travel between the Cook Islands and New Zealand is the result of our uncompromising commitment to ensuring all necessary
health and border measures are instituted to the highest standards of protection against Covid-19 prior to commencement.
“In close partnership with New Zealand, we are continuing to work through final details for the deployment of vaccines to the Cook Islands and expect to provide further details on the vaccine rollout within the next week few weeks.”
Ardern said if there was an outbreak in the Cook Islands, the Government would be more likely to charter a flight to bring Kiwis home.
She said the rollout of the Pfizer vaccine in the Cook Islands is likely to start this month, but there are still details to be finalised.
Ardern said there was currently no vaccination under way in the Cook Islands, but the population of Rarotonga could be vaccinated in a day — going by the current daily vaccination rate in New Zealand.
Some logistics need to be finalised, including how to keep the vaccine cool.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins added that the vaccination workforce in New Zealand will be “flat out” from July, so vaccinating the Cook Islands before then would be ideal.
Travellers will have to have been in either the Cook Islands or New Zealand for at least 14 days before travel. This means anyone wanting to travel between Australia and the Cook Islands would need to spend at least 14 days in New Zealand in the middle.
There will be no requirement for a pre-departure Covid-19 test, but travellers will have to complete a travel declaration, provide a health declaration and there will be random health checks at airports.
Flights will be operating as ‘green’, with measures in place through the traveller journey to keep travellers separate from ‘red’ flights in and out of New Zealand where passengers need to enter MIQ.
Speculation yesterday morning was for the bubble starting at about May 15 in the Cook Islands, which is Sunday, May 16 NZT.
A start date would be good news for both countries, but particularly the Cook Islands because Kiwis traditionally make up a significant portion of the tourism business there.
“We wanted to make sure when we do it, we got it right,” Ardern told Newshub yesterday morning. “We didn’t want to run the risk of exporting [Covid-19] to the Cook Islands, which has been Covid-free.”
Passengers from the Cook Islands have been able to travel to New Zealand quarantine-free since the end of January, but the Government has been concerned about travellers taking Covid there.