The Government says it needed all its ducks in a row before reopening the border

Top health officials Ashley Bloomfield and Caroline McElnay agreed in November last year, that managed isolation was no longer justified for most returnees.

The Acting Prime Minister says Cabinet announced soon afterwards MIQ would be dropped in January.

But that changed within days, once the threat posed by Omicron became evident.

Grant Robertson says the Government also wanted more people to be boosted.

He says testing needed to be in place, the health system had to be ready, and there needed to be a plan to look after vulnerable communities.