The New Zealand travel bubble with Australia will take effect in the first quarter of 2021 following coronavirus pandemic lockdowns.
According to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, the cabinet agreed in principle for the trans-Tasman, quarantine free New Zealand travel bubble with Australia, and no changes in circumstances of either country.
“It is our intention to name a date ... in the New Year once remaining details are locked down,” Ardern said during a news conference in Wellington.
New Zealand has removed the virus within its borders by imposing a strict lockdown and shutting down its borders to foreigners for the most part of the year.
Ardern added that ensuring safe travels requires more work, and New Zealand must be careful in finalizing arrangements like managing airline crew, segregating travelers, and more.
“Of course we want to progress on these issues including quarantine-free travel but we haven’t taken risks before as that means New Zealanders won’t be able to keep their freedom and I certainly don’t want to take those risks right now,” Ardern said.
A trans-Tasman travel bubble has been in talks for months and several Australian regions have allowed New Zealanders to enter without quarantine since October, but New Zealand had not made a similar move.
Australia also closed its international borders early in the Covid-19 pandemic and only allows returning Australian citizens to arrive in the country.
Last week, New Zealand and the Cook Islands decided to launch a quarantine-free travel bubble by March next year.
Reflecting on 2020, Ardern said it was “a year no one would have imagined”.
She said New Zealanders long for a break, explaining that recent developments made on a Covid-19 vaccine were nothing less than remarkable. She said that people are trying to be optimistic in 2021. When asked to describe 2020 in two words, she gave one: “horrendous.”
Travel bubble
Like New Zealand, Singapore almost implemented a travel bubble with Hong Kong. However, the two cities decided to delay their bilateral travel bubble beyond 2020.
The decision of Singapore and Hong Kong came after the latter reported a new spike of Covid-19 cases. Inaugural flights were supposed to begin on Nov. 22.
“Singapore and Hong Kong have further reviewed the COVID-19 situation in Hong Kong, and given that local unlinked cases are still high, both parties have decided to defer the commencement of the Singapore – Hong Kong Air Travel Bubble (ATB) to beyond December 2020,” the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said in a statement.
The Singapore aviation authority and the Hong Kong government stressed that they will assess the arrangement again in late December to determine a new start date.
New coronavirus cases in Hong Kong continued to soar. The city posted 76 additional cases on Monday, bringing its total number of cases to 6,315, official data showed.
The Hong Kong-Singapore travel bubble was supposed to begin without the need for quarantines. Instead, tourists would undergo a Covid-19 test before departure. Hong Kong may also ask for a second test after arrival.
