New Zealand seals border to Australia

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Just in from The Australian:

New Zealand has delayed reopening its border to Australia until the end of February, amid fears opening will allow Omicron into the country.

Jacinda Ardern’s government had planned to allow fully vaccinated Kiwis living in Australia to return home from January 17. However NZ Covid chief Chris Hipkins told reporters the delay would allow the majority of fully vaccinated New Zealanders to receive a booster, and be better protected against Omicron.

The decision came as the government said it would also shorten the interval between the second jab and the booster from six months to four from mid January, meaning 82 per cent of Kiwis who had already had their second dose would have a third dose by the end of February.

In making the decision to delay reopening, Mr Hipkin cited the modelling referred to by NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard last week which calculated NSW could be reporting 25,000 cases a day by the end of January.

New Zealand currently has 90% of its adult population (74% of its total population) double-vaccinated.

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No doubt by the time February arrives, second booster shots will be required…

About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.