Aussie travel bubble shut for three days

All quarantine-free travel from Australia has been paused for three days after Sydney was plunged into a two-week lockdown as Covid-19 cases grew to 82.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said last night closing the bubble to all of Australia was a neccessary step.

“There are now multiple cases and outbreaks in Australia in differing stages of containment and the health risk for New Zealand is increasing.”

That will throw the plans of thousands of people into chaos, but comes after NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced further restrictions for the state as infections increased to 82 cases — with 29 new community Covid infections registered yesterday.

“I acknowledge the frustration that comes with this pause, but given the high level of transmissibility of what appears to be the Delta variant, and the fact that there are now multiple community clusters, it is the right thing to do to keep Covid-19 out of New Zealand,” Hipkins said.

The bubble was paused from 10.30pm yesterday until midnight Tuesday. Hipkins said the decision would be reviewed tomorrow.

All of Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, the Central Coast and Wollongong are in lockdown until midnight on July 9.

Earlier Air New Zealand’s customer teams were contacting NSW travellers with the option to rebook flights, put their flight into credit, or receive a refund if they purchased a refundable ticket.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Health revealed two people who arrived from Australia on Friday are in managed isolation in Auckland after it was found they weren’t eligible for quarantine-free travel.

One person, travelling from NSW, transited to Auckland through another Australian port and was “detected by Customs officials”.

The other person cleared Customs through the e-gates but then realised they may not be eligible for quarantine-free travel. They rang Healthline for advice.

Ministers will meet in Wellington this morning to decide any changes to alert levels.

The Ministry of Health announced yesterday that another 2345 tests had been processed in the region, and all returned negative. That’s despite confirmation the man who tested positive for Covid-19 after returning to Sydney, having the more infectious Delta variant.

Wellington was put into alert level 2 this week, which will remain in force until at least 11.59pm tonight. Scientists have previously told the Herald that positive test results from anyone linked to the tourist are most likely to have emerged already. A press conference is scheduled for 1pm.