New Zealand has dropped its COVID elimination strategy insisting the nation will learn to live with the virus

New Zealand officially abandoned its strategy of eliminating COVID-19 moving to ease some restrictions in the city of Auckland.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the nation will instead look to live with the virus while controlling its spread.

The Pacific nation was among just a handful of countries to bring COVID-19 cases down to zero last year and largely stayed virus-free until an outbreak of the highly infections Delta variant in mid-August frustrated efforts to stamp out transmission.

Health authorities reported 29 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, taking the total number in the current outbreak to 1,357.

The majority of the cases are in Auckland, which has been in lockdown for nearly 50 days

Amid mounting pressure, the Prime Minister has said her strategy was never to have zero cases, but to aggressively stamp out the virus.

Strict lockdowns will end once 90% of the eligible population is vaccinated

Under new changes in Auckland, people will be able to leave their homes to connect with loved ones outdoors from Wednesday, with a limit of 10 people.

New rules added to international arrivals:

The government also announced that all foreign nationals entering New Zealand will need to be fully vaccinated from November 1.

Travellers will have to declare their vaccination status when registering with the country’s isolation system and provide proof of vaccination or exemption to their airline and customs officers on landing, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said in a statement.

Those arriving in New Zealand will still have to spend 14 days in quarantine, and all travelers, except for those coming from locations with an exemption, will still need  to show a negative Covid-19 test result within 72 hours of their first scheduled international flight.