WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand health authorities have left the trans-Tasman bubble in place with New South Wales but are watching carefully as the Bondi Covid-19 cluster continues to grow.
A further 10 cases were revealed on June 22 in New South Wales, bringing the latest cluster to 21.
“New Zealand health officials have determined that, at this time, the Covid-19 public health risk to New Zealand remains low,” a Ministry of Health statement said.
“Public health officials are regularly reviewing developments … and advice will be updated, if and when required.”
Officials have revealed 16 recent arrivals in New Zealand had visited locations of interest listed from the recent outbreak in New South Wales.
“The majority of these contacts self-identified through Healthline and have been provided appropriate health advice to stay at home and be tested,” the statement said.
“Five of them are required to isolate for 14 days and be tested twice in that time, and all have returned a negative first test.
“A further 11 are required to self-isolate until they return a negative day-five test. Of those, eight have returned a negative test and three are outstanding.”
People who have visited locations of interest on either side of the Tasman are not allowed to fly
Should they fly to Aotearoa and then discover they have visited a location of interest, they are required to isolate at home until testing negative to Covid-19.
The Kiwi government will allow visitors from Victoria as of June 23 after being satisfied the risk has lowered following a recent cluster of cases in Melbourne.
Quarantine-free travel to Melbourne has been paused for the last month.
Those who were at any of the locations in Victoria, New South Wales or Queensland at the specified times are advised to follow the health advice in the relevant state. In addition, they should not travel to New Zealand within 14 days following exposure, the ministry said.
Victoria has not seen any new cases of the Delta variant in the past week.
Officials from Victoria’s health department determine it is unlikely there is widespread community transmission. They continue to carry out approximately 15,000 tests a day and Covid-19 has not been detected in wastewater samples for an unexplained reason.
New Zealand’s Ministry of Health is in contact with people who have traveled from Sydney to New Zealand since June 11 and is asking them to check the locations of interest and self-monitor for symptoms of Covid-19.
The Ministry also issued some specific travel advice, noting that flights from New South Wales to New Zealand will continue, subject to developments, and advising anyone at interest locations in Sydney to follow New South Wales health advice regarding testing and isolation, and not travel to New Zealand within 14 days.
A comprehensive list of exposure sites extends from Bondi Junction to Vaucluse and on to North Sydney, Campbelltown, Newtown, North Ryde, Redfern, and Zetland.
(Edited by Vaibhav Vishwanath Pawar and Nikita Nikhil)
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