Quarantine-free travel from New Zealand to Australia is once again permitted, after a COVID-19 outbreak in the Land of the Long White Cloud prompted the bubble’s suspension last week.

Australia’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly, advised on Saturday that ‘green zone’ flights from New Zealand to Australia could resume from 12:01am (AEDT) yesterday, with a few conditions of entry attached.

All passengers travelling on a green zone flight who have been in Auckland for any period – with exception of the airport for travel – over the last 14 days, are required to provide evidence at check-in of a negative PCR test conducted within 72 hours of their scheduled flight departure.

Routine pre-departure and on arrival screening will continue, and travellers intending to fly domestically in Australia are advised to check all existing restrictions in their state of final destination.

These conditions will apply until 12:01am (AEDT) on 1 March 2021.

Professor Kelly said the recent cases of COVID-19 identified in New Zealand posed a low risk of spreading in Australia.

“The AHPPC (Australian Health Protection Principal Committee) monitors the situation in many locations and will continue to advise on a range of decisions in the interest of the health of all Australians,” he said.

“These decisions are not easy, and we do not take them lightly, and all AHPPC members appreciate the ongoing patience and flexibility of Australians and New Zealanders, including those in the tourism and travel industry.

“We will continue to move quickly to protect Australians as circumstances change, but we will always endeavour to move just as quickly when those situations are brought under control, or otherwise resolve.”

The latest suspension marked the second time that the one-way travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand had been halted, with the former enacting a similar 72-hour pause last month over another COVID-19 scare across the ditch.

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