All future tourists to the Cook Islands aged 12 years and older need to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, says Cook Islands government.

The only exemption will be for people with a medical certificate, said a government press release.

The release said the Cook Islands would not open its borders to New Zealand for quarantine-free travel until it was fully confident there was no community transmission.

The government said this would likely mean New Zealand would need to be in Covid-19 Alert Level 1.

The Cook Islands is also to remain at Alert Level 2 until New Zealand has had 14 days without community transmission.

Prime Minister Mark Brown said: “As one of the few countries in the world that has managed to keep Covid-19 out, we do not want to do anything to jeopardise the safety of our people.”

“While we acknowledge that at some point in the future all countries will need to learn to live with Covid-19, that time has not yet come. We do not want an outbreak here. The impact on our health resources as well as our economy would be devastating.”

• Read more in tomorrow’s Cook Islands News