Australia's Northern Territory is forcing Sydney residents who cross the border to spend two weeks in quarantine amid fears of a second wave of coronavirus.
Sydney has recently seen an increase in new cases after a cluster broke out at a Casula hotel.
"A man from Melbourne came into a workplace in Sydney, and then there's some transmission within that workplace and then they all went to a party that night of the third of July, at the Crossroads hotel," NSW Health Operations Manager Jennie Musto said.
"So this is where it all began."
At least 34 cases of COVID-19 have now been linked to the outbreak, 7 News reported.
On Wednesday morning the Security and Emergency Management Committee was advised by the chief health officer as they prepare to reopen the state's borders on Friday.
Chief minister Michael Gunner later announced that residents from the wider Sydney area, as well as Victoria residents, wanting to travel to Northern Territory would have to enter 14-day quarantine.
He said Sydney's COVID-19 situation has the potential to "get worse before it gets better".
"To open our borders to Sydney right now, when we don’t know the full extent of this cluster, would be a roll of the dice," Gunner said.
Due to new border requirements travellers will also have to pay for their own quarantine costs at $2670, 9 News reported.
"It does suck, but it is the way it is and it's how it has to be," Gunner said.
The rule is expected to remain in place indefinitely.
"We will review the Sydney hotspot declarations in two weeks - one full replication cycle of the virus — to see if they need to be extended or amended," he said.
