New Zealanders travelling to the Australian state of New South Wales have been told to fly home or pay for two weeks of quarantine after the emergence of three new community cases.
The new cases in the south Auckland community have caused major concern for health officials, prompting Cabinet to place the entire Auckland region into alert level 3 for three days, with the rest of the country moving to alert level 2.
Amid our new lockdown measures, New South Wales Health has announced that anyone travelling from New Zealand will now be required to leave Australia or enter hotel quarantine for 14 days.
"These measures are supported by a new hotspot identification under the Air Transportation Public Health Order declared by the NSW Chief Health Officer, and effective as of 12:01am [on Monday] morning," a statement reads.
"These hotspots cover Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Wellington, Queenstown, Rotorua and their airports, from which people exit New Zealand."
The state's health department is now in the process contacting everyone who has arrived in New South Wales from New Zealand from February 6 to February 14 to provide them with advice.
These people are being told to avoid high-risk locations such as aged-care homes and healthcare facilities unless seeking treatment. They've also been told to work from home wherever possible and avoid large social gatherings.
Others who visited locations of interest identified by the Ministry of Health are required to be tested and either isolate until a test result is negative or for the full 14 days following their potential exposure, depending on the threat posed by their exposure.
New South Wales recorded another day without a locally transmitted case on Monday - its 29th in a row following the COVID-19 scare in the Northern Beaches over the Christmas holiday season.
Health officials say while the milestone is pleasing, it does not mean locals should drop their guard.
"Cases are present in other states and across the Tasman, as well as being regularly detected among international arrivals," a statement reads.
"It is vital that we continue to follow public health advice and continue to maintain social distancing and good hygiene, wear masks on public transport, and come forward for testing with even the mildest of symptoms."
