24 Jun 2021

NSW travel bubble pause extended another 12 days

7:54 pm on 24 June 2021

The pause on quarantine-free travel from New South Wales to New Zealand will continue for a further 12 days.

Passengers wearing face masks alight from a metro in Sydney on June 23, 2021, as residents were largely banned from leaving the city to stop a growing outbreak of the highly contagious Delta Covid-19 variant spreading to other regions.

Photo: Saeed KHAN / AFP

It comes after New South Wales (NSW) reported another 11 locally acquired cases, including four not yet linked to the Bondi outbreak.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said a cautious approach was needed while investigations continued into those four cases.

Anyone who was at a location of interest cannot travel to New Zealand within 14 days of exposure, regardless of which Australian state or territory they are leaving from.

New Zealand public health staff remain in close contact with NSW authorities, Hipkins said.

Health officials will review the decision late next week.

Anyone who has only been in Norfolk Island and not elsewhere in New South Wales is still eligible for quarantine-free travel.

Passengers will be asked on departure from Australia by their airline and on arrival in New Zealand by Customs if they have been at a location of interest.

All travellers to New Zealand must also complete the Nau Mai Ra travel declaration which allows contact tracers to get in touch with them if they have been at a location of interest, but have since travelled to New Zealand.

New South Wales public health officials are continuing to add new locations of interest.

Anyone who has been at a location of interest at the specified time should call Healthline on 0800 358 5453, get tested and self-isolate until they return a negative result.

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