Neighboring countries Australia and New Zealand are planning to open up their borders for a "trans-Tasman travel bubble,” New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed on Tuesday.
Ardern was addressing a press conference after attending the Australian cabinet meeting on the coronavirus via video call. She had been invited by Australian PM Scott Morrison for the meeting, to discuss ways that both countries could work together.
Read more: Will warmer weather stop the spread of the coronavirus?
The nations had shut their borders for travel in March, to control the virus. This had negatively impacted their respective tourism industries. Now, as the spread of the pandemic seems to be under control, their leaders are looking to end the restrictions.
"We both stand to benefit from getting travel up and running again. Families and friendships span the Tasman," she told reporters, emphasizing that safety would be a priority for both nations.
Read more: Australia's slow reaction to the coronavirus crisis
While the countries are considering opening up trans-Tasman links, opening up international travel is still a long way ahead.
New Zealand reported its second day with no new cases of Covid-19 over a 24-hour period. The country has seen 1,486 cases, with 20 deaths. Australia has had around 6,800 cases, with 96 deaths. Both countries have had a mortality rate of just 1%, and have increased medical equipment reserves.
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The women leading the fight against coronavirus
No nonsense — Angela Merkel
Germany has made headlines around the world for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak and relatively low mortality rate. The chancellor has been hailed for her straight talk, warning that 60% of people will contract the virus. Merkel broke down how coronavirus measures should be followed to overcome the "greatest challenge" Germany has faced since World War II.
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The women leading the fight against coronavirus
Developing vaccines — Marylyn Addo
The virologist and leading professor at the German Center for Infection Research and the head of infections at the Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf is working together with her team to develop a coronavirus vaccine. She has already developed vaccines against the Ebola virus and the MERS coronavirus.
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The women leading the fight against coronavirus
Preventative measures — Jacinda Ardern
Under Ardern, New Zealand deployed widespread testing and set out some of the toughest border restrictions in the world to prevent an outbreak. On March 14, Ardern announced anyone entering the country would need to self-isolate for two weeks. At the time, New Zealand had six cases. She then banned all visitors from entering and announced a lockdown at 102 confirmed cases and zero deaths.
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The women leading the fight against coronavirus
Nationwide coronavirus testing — Jung Eun-kyeong
The director of South Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been hailed as a "national hero," with local media reports saying she rarely slept and refused to leave the office in the name of fighting the outbreak. Jung helped steer the way for deploying mass nationwide coronavirus testing.
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The women leading the fight against coronavirus
Paving the way for the EU — Mette Frederiksen
Under Frederiksen's leadership, Denmark was one of the first countries in Europe to respond to the spread of the coronavirus, implementing strict measures in the first half of March. Among a number of actions taken, the country shut down its borders to all visitors without a valid entry visa on March 14.
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The women leading the fight against coronavirus
Quick action — Tsai Ing-wen
Despite the island nation's close proximity to the epicenter of the virus, Taiwan managed to avoid a health crisis. Defying experts' predictions that Taiwan would have one of the highest infection rates, Tsai's government took early action to prevent further outbreak and introduced a travel ban on visitors from China, Hong Kong and Macau soon after the number of cases began to rise in China.
Author: Sou-Jie Brunnersum
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tg/rc (dpa, Reuters)
