WELLINGTON (Reuters) – Australia has suspended quarantine-free travel with neighboring New Zealand after three new community cases of COVID-19 were detected in Auckland over the weekend.
New Zealand mentioned on Sunday it was locking down its largest city after new cases emerged within the nation, which has been credited with nearly eliminating the virus inside its borders.
Australia’s chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, convened an urgent meeting late on Sunday and it was decided that all flights originating in New Zealand could be categorized as “Red Zone” flights for an initial period of 72 hours from Monday.
“Because of this, all individuals arriving on such flights originating within this three-day period will need to go into 14 days of supervised hotel quarantine,” Australia’s Department of Health mentioned on its website.
The travel bubble was set up in order that New Zealanders might get to Australia without needing to spend 14 days in a hotel, though quarantine was necessary for individuals traveling within the other direction.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern mentioned on Monday that genomic sequencing of the newest COVID-19 community cases showed they had been the variant B1.1.7, the more transmissible variant first detected within the UK.
“We were completely right to make the choice to be further cautious because we assumed it was going to be one of the more transmissible variants,” Ardern mentioned in a Fb Live post on Monday.
The source of the new cases is still unknown as results don’t link on to any other positive cases detected in New Zealand to date.
Ardern raised restrictions in Auckland to Level 3 through Wednesday, shutting public venues and prohibiting gatherings outside homes, except for weddings and funerals of up to 10 individuals. Schools will stay open for children of essential staff however others were asked to stay home.
The COVID-19 alert for the rest of the nation was raised to Level 2, with all gatherings restricted to 100 individuals, including at restaurants and cafes.