The travel bubble has been suspended for another 8 weeks between Australia and New Zealand

The New Zealand government has confirmed that the travel bubble with Australia will remain suspended until at least November 19, due to the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak in both countries.

Non-quarantine travel between the two countries was launched in April, but was suspended in July after the number of cases rose in several Australian states. The suspension was supposed to be lifted on September 24, but will now remain in effect for another eight weeks, with a review scheduled between mid-November and the end of November.

In a statement, New Zealand Minister for Coronavirus Response Chris Hepkins said: “When QFTs (Quarantine Free Travel) were established with Australia, our two countries had very few cases of COVID-19 transmission and a very similar strategy to eliminate the virus. This has changed dramatically. , which led to our decision to suspend the QFT for an additional eight weeks. Uncontrolled transmission continues to occur in Australia, with cases continuing to rise steadily in New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. A small number of cases continue to appear sporadically in states and territories. Others In New Zealand too we are in the process of controlling the epidemic in Auckland Protecting New Zealand from any possible spread of the delta variant of COVID-19 is our top priority We have made great strides in containing the current outbreak and are working hard to ease restrictions next week Re-opening non-travel Being quarantined with Australia at this point could jeopardize those gains.”

Chris Hipkins a égallement confirmé qu’un troisième « vol rouge » entre l’Australie et la Nouvelle-Zélande est prévu « pour les personnes en situation d’urgence », après deux vols similaires ce mois-ci permettant auxé de Kiwis Ablous Return to their homeland.

Upon arrival in New Zealand, they will be required to spend 14 days in managed accommodation in isolation and quarantine (MIQ) at their own expense.

Last month, the New Zealand government unveiled its projects to “reconnect New Zealanders with the world”. The borders will remain largely closed until 2022, which will allow the country to “vaccinate as many New Zealanders as possible and safely conduct a self-isolation trial of vaccinated New Zealanders to prepare for a gradual resumption of travel without quarantine”.