New Zealand has announced a phased reopening of its borders, as the country starts to ease some of the world’s toughest Covid restrictions. Vaccinated citizens in Australia can go home from 27 February without needing to undergo state mandatory hotel quarantine. Jabbed citizens elsewhere will be allowed in from 13 March, said PM Jacinda Ardern. People will still have to self-isolate for 10 days but can do so at home. The announcement comes after growing criticism of Wellington’s controversial closed-border policy to keep out the coronavirus. New Zealand’s borders have been shut for nearly two years due to the pandemic. In that period, the country of five million people has recorded 53 deaths and about 17,000 Covid cases – very low numbers compared to the rest of the world. But while the closed border policy has been popular domestically, New Zealanders overseas said it had made it near impossible to go home. The huge demand for hotel quarantine spots shut many Kiwis out.(BBC)…[+]