NZ High Commissioner congratulates Niue on Covid-19 response as the island transition to business as usual

In her first public speech since the opening of borders at the end of July, New Zealand’s high commissioner Her Excellency Helen Tunnah said ‘what a wonderful job Niue has done since it opened its borders and managing the pandemic’.

At the Avatele annual village show day on Saturday, Ms Tunnah extended her congratulations to the Niue government and everyone who played a part in bringing Niue through the past two years of the pandemic.

“This is the first time I’ve spoken since the borders have opened and I think that we really just need to take a moment to just remark on what a wonderful job Niue has done since it opened its border and managing the pandemic and allowing the show such as today to be able to proceed. And that’s down to everyone who are here today for doing the right thing,”

“So we just need to remember just how well Niue right across the health and policy approach”, said High Commissioner Helen Tunnah.

High Commissioner Tunnah also thanked the visitors to Niue, for accepting to adhere to the pre-departure travel requirements to protect Niue as they return to enjoy Niue as a tourism destination. 

“To all the tourists that have come, thank you for adhering to Niue’s entry requirements. It’s a great place to visit and it’s really really important for the Niue economy that the borders are back open and things are starting to pick up again.

In addition to the supply of the Pfizer vaccines for Niue, the New Zealand government provides ongoing support through the Ministry of Health in consultation with the Niue Health Department in the response to the coronavirus pandemic since 2020.

Last week the Niue government announced the shift from a disaster response to Covid 19 to that a health response and a transition to business as usual. 

Tourists to Niue are still required to be fully vaccinated and must provide a negative pre-departure PCR test 48 hours prior to the flight.