BUBBLE OVER
Twins turn 2 in Auckland, but father stuck
• All quarantine-free travel from Australia was last night paused for three days after Sydney was plunged into a two-week lockdown.
• As New South Wales scrambles to contain a fresh outbreak of Covid-19, Chris Hipkins said pausing the bubble was needed to protect NZ from the growing risks.
• Airlines were last night cancelling flights from New Zealand and contacting thousands of passengers.
• Meanwhile, others are stranded there including a dad who will miss his twin sons’ second birthday in Auckland.
Sydney father Michael Agamalis burst into tears last night when he knew for certain he would not be reunited in Auckland for his twin boys’ second birthday.
The 31-year-old father’s flight from Sydney was supposed to touch down in Auckland yesterday afternoon but with greater Sydney’s lockdown extended until July 9 that was officially scrapped.
Agamalis said it was particularly tough to miss his boys’ birthday on July 2 after a year apart.
“It’s very crushing I don’t get to see my kids for their birthday.
“My heart just had this sinking feeling, my heart dropped.
“It was crushing, I went straight to tears.”
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian yesterday announced harsher lockdown restrictions for New South Wales as infections in the state increased to 82 cases.
The state recorded 29 new community Covid infections that day.
Air NZ subsequently cancelled most of its flights between Sydney and New Zealand.
When Australia and New Zealand’s travel bubble was first announced in April, Agamalis and the mother of his twins, Jasmine Joyce, immediately booked flights for him to travel to Auckland at the end of this month.
He was going to spend a month with his boys Adonis and Phoenix, and had promised them he would never miss a birthday.
Even though Agamalis doesn’t live in a “Covid hotspot” he still did everything he could to ensure he would not catch the virus.
“I did everything in my power to stay away from anybody which could be a potential risk,” he said.
Westmead, in Sydney’s greater west where Agamalis lives, entered
It’s very crushing I don’t get to see my kids for their birthday. My heart just had this sinking feeling, my heart dropped. I went straight to tears. Michael Agamalis