New Zealand still has to get through Omicron and hope the pandemic becomes a more navigable, lower-level, threat as some experts think it will. Less severe but more transmissible than Delta, Omicron has still been able to cause a lot of chaos overseas.
After wading through alert levels, and a framework with traffic lights, New Zealand now has five reopening stages to pass.
After February 27, fully vaccinated New Zealanders and eligible travellers from Australia will be able to self-isolate rather than go through MIQ. Then after March 13 the border will be open to Kiwis and eligible travellers from elsewhere, plus skilled workers and those on working holiday visas.
From April 12, the country will allow in international students and people on temporary visas. From not later than July, all Australians and visitors not requiring visas can come in. And in October the border is open to the rest of the world. Unvaccinated travellers would still go into MIQ.
Despite the Omicron outbreak and the previously delayed border reopening plan, this new effort seems more likely to stick.
Vaccines, boosters, the emergence of a fast-spreading variant that three shots are effective against, jabs for children, other medical developments, rapid testing kits, economic considerations, finding a solution to ongoing MIQ returnee concerns, and the country's international standing are all influencing this move.
Cutting booster dose eligibility to three months after the second shot allows more people to get the third jab by the end of the month.
Data offers hope that in an environment where Omicron is the dominant variant, Covid is a manageable problem for those who have three vaccine shots. The unvaccinated minority remain the most at risk.
Countries overseas are lifting health measures even in some places where cases are still high.
The United States is seeing Omicron drop. It is now averaging about 425,000 new cases daily, a decrease from over 750,000 each day two weeks ago.
Denmark is dealing with an Omicron sub-variant and easing Covid measures. Cases, hospital admissions and deaths are still up, but the numbers of people in hospital intensive care have fallen.
World Health Organisation emergencies chief Dr Michael Ryan said this week that countries with higher vaccination rates "have more choices" over easing measures, but should assess factors such as at-risk populations, immunity in the population, and people's access to protective tools.
There's uncertainty over how New Zealand's reopening will play out.
Will a combination of self-isolation and rapid antigen tests be effective enough in slowing virus spread? Will that regime be managed well? And will it eventually be a deterrent to tourists if it stays?
Although plenty of people will be keen to travel overseas again, there will still be Covid-related risks and will local insurance cover be adequate to support people making trips? Will there be sufficient flights to meet demand?
There also has to be concern that border reopening could see a lot of young New Zealanders leave to take advantage of job and wage opportunities overseas, for OEs, and to escape the cost of living here, particularly with high rentals and inflation.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern spent time in her speech about the border on economic recovery, non-Covid projects and trade.
Although people want to move on, this year is the time to ensure we are adequately prepared for future pandemics with sufficient medical supplies, improved building ventilation and access to mRNA vaccine technology. Ardern's mention of a national quarantine service is hopefully part of that.
From a political point of view, Ardern's border announcement has changed the conversation from "MIQ anguish", as she put it, and pushed opposition parties on to debating whether the reopening plan will be too slow or too quick.
New Zealanders will be hoping we're now in the home stretch of this pandemic. Two years on, there's some hope and change in the air.
