The New Zealand government has suspended the trans-Tasman bubble for those flying from Australia for three days from late Saturday due to “multiple cases and outbreaks in Australia”.
Quarantine-free travel for Australians entering New Zealand ended at 10.30pm local time on Saturday (8.30pm AEST) and will finish at 11.59pm local time on Tuesday.
New Zealand’s COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Credit:Getty Images
People travelling from New Zealand into Australia can still do so without having to quarantine on arrival.
In a statement, New Zealand’s COVID Response Minister Chris Hipkins said the country had taken the precautionary step of temporarily widening the current one-way pause with New South Wales to include all of Australia.
“There are now multiple cases and outbreaks in Australia in differing stages of containment and the health risk for New Zealand in response to these cases is increasing,” he said.
“This short pause will give us time to get a better understanding of the developing situation and to consider a range of measures to make the bubble safer, such as the possible introduction of pre-departure testing for all flights from Australia to New Zealand.”
The decision comes after the NSW government announced a strict lockdown for all of Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, the Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour for two weeks from 6pm Saturday, with Premier Gladys Berejiklian noting the situation in the state was “worsening”.
Only twelve of the 29 new cases of COVID-19 in NSW to 8pm on Friday were in isolation during their infectious period, according to health officials.
A miner in the Northern Territory also tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, with authorities believing he contracted the virus during hotel quarantine in Queensland.
Australia’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Michael Kidd, said on Saturday afternoon there have been 37 new cases of COVID-19 reported across the country within 24 hours, with 31 of those locally acquired and six returned travellers in hotel quarantine.
Families were reunited in November last year after being separated by flight bans into Melbourne Airport from New Zealand.Credit:Wayne Taylor
The decision to not allow quarantine-free travel from any part of Australia for the next three days will be reviewed on Monday.
The New Zealand government has advised anyone in Australia from June 21 onwards to monitor their health and be aware of the constantly updating exposure sites across the country.
Mr Hipkins announced earlier on Saturday they would be suspending the trans-Tasman bubble with NSW for 12 more days. The bubble had only been reinstated with the state Victoria on Tuesday after an outbreak.
All Australians were able to fly into New Zealand quarantine-free for the first time in more than a year on April 18.
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Ashleigh McMillan is a breaking news reporter at The Age. Got a story? Email me at a.mcmillan@theage.com.au
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2021-06-26 10:43:52Z
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