The development of a COVID-19 vaccine, treatment for the virus, and quick turnaround of testing is what will "change the future scenario" of New Zealand's restricted borders, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says.
Ardern said the border will only be opened to non-New Zealand citizens and residents "when it is safe to do so" because the Government wants to maintain the country's current status of no community transmission.
"We do, of course, want to work through the opportunities in the future to be able to manage individuals coming back into New Zealand," she said on Friday. "As this pandemic is surging and while the technology and testing is as limited as it is, right now is not the right time."
Ardern said New Zealand is in a "unique position" compared to other regions where COVID-19 cases are continuing to grow. The Australia state of Victoria recorded 75 new cases on Monday, the largest case increase since 70 were recorded on March 31.
"The fact we have been able to manage as a team COVID as successfully as we have means we haven't had the economic impacts right now of things like social distancing, not being able to have bars and restaurants open," Ardern said. "That's an advantage."
But New Zealand has not come of lockdown unscathed.
The Ministry of Social Development confirmed on Friday that almost 200,000 New Zealanders are on an unemployment benefit - that's about the population of Wellington City.
Ardern acknowledged that the "disadvantage" for New Zealanders is border controls.
"Will they be with us forever? Well, when we have development of vaccine, treatment, reliable quick turnaround testing - all of that will change the future scenario for our borders," she said. "Those are technologies that would all make a difference to New Zealand's borders."
She said in the meantime the Government is working on a potential trans-Tasman travel bubble, a smart borders project with Singapore, and options to bring back international students in the 2021 education year.
"All of that work is underway but we have to make sure it's safe."
Opening up the border to non-Kiwis and residents has implications because every returnee is currently required to undergo two weeks of managed isolation in Government-funded facilities.
Since June 9, people in managed isolation and quarantine facilities need to be tested at days three and 12, and a negative result is required for the day 12 test before being allowed to leave.
The latest figures on Friday show there are currently 5202 people in managed isolation facilities across Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua, Wellington and Christchurch. The total people capacity at the moment is 6188.
The Government is looking at opening facilities in Queenstown and Dunedin.
Nearly $300 million has been budgeted by Cabinet for the rest of the year to fund the facilities, and the minister in charge Megan Woods is exploring co-payment options - but there are implications with that because Kiwis have a legal right to return home.
New Zealand's community-transmission-free status hasn't gone unnoticed. The European Union has included us in a list of countries it considers "safe", and Kiwis will be able to travel there without having to spend two weeks in isolation.
But the Prime Minister confirmed earlier this week that New Zealand will not be returning the favour, and that Kiwis will have to plan for two weeks of managed isolation when they return.
Dr Michael Head, Senior Research Fellow in Global Health at the University of Southampton has written that COVID-19 is likely to be around for some time.
"Many countries are experiencing big increases in their daily COVID-19 cases. Whether or not these are second waves, or the first wave only now really starting to accelerate, it's clear that COVID-19 is here to stay for some considerable time yet."
The Ministry of Health reported no new cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand on Friday, so the number of active cases remains at 18 - all of which are in managed isolation or quarantine facilities.
There are no cases of COVID-19 in the community.
