New Zealand borders to stay closed until citizens are 'vaccinated and protected'

Jacinda Ardern says New Zealand can return to normal' only when the rest of the world does too

• Coronavirus - latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

Jacinda Ardern has said New Zealand and the world" need to return to some semblance of normality before she opens the country's borders to foreign nationals.

The prime minister shut the border in mid-March and said on Tuesday she would not open it again until New Zealanders were vaccinated and protected" - a process that will not start for the general population until the middle of this year.