Tasmania will delay opening its borders to any other state until 31 August 2020.
New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, has confirmed that New Zealand will be keeping its borders shut to travellers from Australia for the foreseeable future. Ms Ardern said the situation in Victoria, NSW and potential outbreaks in other states has meant that New Zealand is not prepared to entertain the idea of a ‘trans-Tasman travel bubble’ yet. Community transmission in Australia is just too high, she said.
“One of the things we said as part of our criteria was that anywhere we have quarantine-free travel, they have to be free of community transmission for a period of time, 28 days.
“That is going to take a long time for Australia to get back to that place.”
Tasmanian Premier, Peter Gutwein, said: “Tasmania remains coronavirus-free, [but] we can’t become complacent, everybody is taking note of what’s occurring [in Victoria].
“We only have to look across Bass Strait, it is concerning and it is alarming and Tasmanians are thinking of them.
“All Tasmanians have been asked to make sacrifices, we do whatever we can to keep in front of this.”
IMAGE: Emerald Lakes, Tongariro National Park, New Zealand
