COVID-19: New Zealand-Australia travel bubble faces second disruption after fresh case

The much-anticipated quarantine-free travel bubble between New Zealand and Australia ended up facing the second disruption on May 1 in just eight days of resuming operations due to the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Perth. As per the report, a worker at a managed isolation facility in Western Australia and two people he shared accommodation with have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, revealed authorities. However, Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan, as per the Strait Times report, said that the state would not enter a lockdown “at this point.”

Meanwhile, reportedly New Zealand health ministry officials said that they had conducted a “rapid” assessment and had “determined scheduled direct flights from Western Australia to New Zealand should be immediately paused while a further assessment is carried out.” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on April 19 welcomed the opening of free travel between his nation and New Zealand and called it a “win-win” for both sides. But recently a flight scheduled to arrive in Auckland from Perth at 5:50 AM local time on Sunday was cancelled even though travel to other Australian states and territories remains unaffected.

The May 1 disruption is also the second such disruption since both the nations opened their travel channels last month after almost 400 days of shutting down international borders in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Elation marked the opening of the travel bubble between New Zealand and Australia as families were relieved after being separated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also acted as a boost for tourist operators along with marking the first tentative steps toward both nations hope will become a gradual reopening to the rest of the world. The bubble opened on Monday after the idea being in the discussion for several months but small virus outbreaks kept emerging in both nations.

First disruption to Australia-NZ travel bubble

The flights between New Zealand and Western Australia were suspended less than a week after the travel bubble was kickstarted. Perth and Peel’s regions were also sent into a three-day lockdown after recording a case of community transmissions on April 23. The bubble was the result of months of negotiations between both largely COVID-19 free neighbours. At the time of the announcement, the Australian Prime Minister had hailed the “milestone” as it was the first tie that Australians can enjoy the perks of unrestricted international travel since the island nation closed its borders in March 2020 to control the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Image credits: AP/Unsplash