The travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand has been burst by two COVID-19 cases in Sydney.
NZ authorities will pause quarantine-free travel between the country and New South Wales from 11.59pm on Thursday.
The pause will last for at least 48 hours, when it will be reviewed.
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Chris Hipkins, the NZ COVID-19 Response Minister, said the pause will prevent the spread from NSW, as health officials to determine the source of infection of the cases.
They are a man in his 50s from Sydney’s eastern suburbs who tested positive on Wednesday, and one of his household contacts, a woman in her 50s, who was announced on Thursday.
Hipkins noted that NSW Health had revealed that the genomic sequence of the new case matched that of an overseas acquired case, who had travelled from the United States and stayed at the Park Royal at Darling Harbour before being moved to health accommodation on April 28.
“We’re erring on the side of caution here,” he said on Thursday.
He acknowledged people’s travel plans will be disrupted by the announcement.
But he said until the missing link behind the cases was fully determined, New Zealand will be closed to people in NSW.
“This is not a decision we are taking lightly,” Hipkins said.
“But we indicated when we opened up the trans-Tasman travel bubble we will continue to be cautious.
“We do need more information I think at this point.
“We’ve weighed this up very carefully, it’s a finely balanced decision, because we do acknowledge that this has the potential to disrupt people’s travel.”
The Australia-NZ travel bubble has been operating since April 19.
Sydney masked
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Wednesday had warned more locally acquired cases were likely following the man’s positive result.
The cases have led to new restrictions in the state, including a mandate on masks in public indoor settings including on transport, at the supermarket and any event that is inside.
Residents will only be allowed to have 20 people in their homes for the next three days.