New Zealand will start quarantine-free travel with Cook Islands on May 17, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said at a press conference on Monday (May 3).

"Two-way quarantine-free travel is a significant step in both countries' COVID-19 recovery, and a direct result of both New Zealand and the Cook Islands' successful response to the pandemic," Ardern said at a news conference.

A one-way quarantine-free travel from the Cook Islands to New Zealand has been possible since January. Last month New Zealand and Australia began a similar testing and quarantine-free travel.