In unsurprising news, the highly touted trans-Tasman travel bubble has been put on the back-burner for several months.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the outbreak in Melbourne was a “major step back for the trans-Tasman bubble”.
“Obviously this is going to be some time away now,” Ardern told media on Monday morning.
Essentially, Australia needs to go 28 days without community transmission before travel between the two countries opens up. Given the unfolding situation in Melbourne, it seems like this won’t be happening any time soon. (It was previously thought to open sometime around September.)
“Anywhere where we have COVID-free travel they have to be free of community transmission for a period of time – that will be some time for Australia,” Ardern told NZ breakfast TV show The AM Show.
On Sunday, Victoria announced 671 new cases diagnosed since the day before, bringing the total active cases to 6,322. Worryingly, the number of active infections in the community with no known source – a.k.a. mystery infections – soared to 760.
“The current rate of community transmission – mystery cases that cannot be traced back to work or home – is far too high,” Premier Dan Andrews said.
“As they tell us, based on the current numbers, cases might begin to drop off not in days or weeks – but in months. Months more of lockdown restrictions. Months more of 300, 400, 500 cases a day.”
Statement on Melbourne moving to Stage 4 restrictions: pic.twitter.com/mFu1Kr1NO0
— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) August 2, 2020
In response, Melbourne entered Stage 4 restrictions yesterday, bringing in an unprecedented curfew to residents, and banning residents from grocery shopping or exercising further than 5km from home. Victoria is now in a state of disaster.
The rest of the state will be moving into Stage 3 restrictions from 11.59pm on Wednesday.
