New Zealand expects Australia 'travel bubble' to remain open despite new COVID-19 case
21 April, 2021
New Zealand authorities reported on Tuesday (Apr 20) a worker in Auckland airport has tested positive for COVID-19, but doubted whether the new case would warrant ordering a pause in quarantine-free travel with Australia.
Australia and New Zealand opened a travel bubble on Monday, after both countries had closed borders in March 2020 to non-citizens and everlasting residents to support the pandemic.
"Whenever we opened, on both sides, we of course knew we'd continue to have cases connected to your border," New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. "We accept that will participate our journey together, I believe Australia accepts that."
New Zealand's health authorities were liaising with their Australian counterparts, Ardern said, with no initial indication that the so-called "travel bubble" would be halted.
The infected worker, who was simply fully vaccinated for the virus, had been cleaning airplanes via countries with known COVID-19 outbreaks, Ardern told reporters in Auckland.
The worker had tested negative on Apr 12 but on Monday tested positive within routine testing, she said, adding that contact tracing was underway.
Border closures, snap lockdowns and speedy tracing systems have helped Australia and New Zealand keep their COVID-19 numbers relatively low.
Australia has recorded just over 29,500 virus cases and 910 deaths because the pandemic began, while New Zealand has already established just over 2,200 confirmed cases and 26 deaths.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
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