Ardern confirmed New Zealand was dealing with the highly transmissible Delta variant linked to the outbreak in Australia that authorities have so far been unable to contain
Taliban fighters took control of the presidential palace in Kabul late on Sunday as US-led forces departed and Western nations scrambled to evacuate their citizens
"The New Zealand system has picked up a case and we know that we have a highly infectious disease, but highly developed containment systems in both New Zealand and Australia," he said.
"We simply cannot get to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 unless the financial sector knows what impact their investments are having on the climate," he said.
Pre-departure testing requirements reduced the number of positive cases coming from other countries but that's not been the case with India, Ardern said.
"Our team's success in managing COVID-19 and keeping it out over the past 12 months now opens up the opportunity to reconnect with loved ones and resume Trans-Tasman travel," Ardern said in a news conference.
The government hopes to announce a start date on April 6, Ardern told a news conference, adding that while opening borders with neighbours was a priority, several concerns needed to be resolved first.
Ardern apologised last year after a royal commission of inquiry into the country's worst massacre found that security agencies were almost exclusively focused on the perceived threat of Islamist terrorism before the attack.
New Zealand started its national rollout of the Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine last month and expects to inoculate its entire population by the end of the year.
Ardern imposed a seven-day lockdown on the city of 2 million last Saturday, continuing its "go hard, go early" response throughout the coronavirus crisis.
Authorities have the ability to take enforcement action against rule-breakers, but have yet to issue a single fine for not wearing a mask on a plane or public transport.
Thousands gathered at a memorial service in the South Island city and marked a minute's silence at 12:51 pm (2351 Sunday GMT), the precise time the shallow 6.3-magnitude quake hit.