Travel between New Zealand and some states of Australia could be possible before the end of the year if COVID-19 cases continue to decline, New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.
Key points:
- Ms Ardern says Australia is satisfied with her country's handling of the virus
- New Zealand has only 59 active cases and 1,477 confirmed cases of COVID-19
- Australia has reported just over 27,000 cases and 872 deaths
Plans for a travel bubble between the two countries have been in discussion for months as both nations slowed the spread of coronavirus.
However, they were disrupted after a resurgence of COVID-19 in Melbourne followed by a second wave of infections in Auckland.
With the virus now largely contained in New Zealand, and as cases continue to decline in Australian regions, travel bubble talks have been revived.
When asked by state broadcaster TVNZ whether New Zealanders would be able to travel to at least some Australian regions before Christmas, Ms Ardern said: "It is possible."
"What we would need to be assured of is that when Australia is saying 'okay we've got a hotspot over here', that the border around that hotspot means that people aren't able to travel into the states where we are engaging with trans-Tasman travel," she said.
Ms Ardern said Australia was satisfied with how New Zealand was managing virus outbreaks and contact tracing.
Australia's Federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham said the travel bubble was welcome news to the tourism industry.
He warned both countries would have to ensure travel was safe so people travelling through Australian and New Zealand airports didn't come into contact with anyone travelling from higher-risk countries.
New Zealand has only 59 active cases and 1,477 confirmed cases of COVID-19 so far, one of the lowest tallies in the world.
Some media reports on Monday also said travel may initially be just one-way from New Zealand to Australia, and may be restricted to travellers from New Zealand's South Island, which has had no coronavirus cases for months.
Victoria, Australia's second most populous state and the epicentre of the country's biggest COVID-19 outbreak, said on Sunday it would ease social distancing restrictions as infections slowed to fewer than 20 cases a day.
Australia has reported just over 27,000 cases, and 872 deaths, well below the numbers seen in many other developed nations.
Reuters
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2020-09-28 00:53:00Z
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