New Zealand has temporarily paused its travel bubble program with New South Wales in Australia as Sydney continues to implement contact tracing following a mystery local transmission.
Two-Day Pause On Sydney Flights
The country's COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said flights from New South Wales would be on hold for 48 hours while NSW health officials determine the situation in Australia.
While inbound flights from NSW are temporarily suspended, New Zealand to Australia travel will still be permitted.
Hipkins said the travel bubble's temporary suspension was a precautionary measure.
New Zealand has largely contained small coronavirus outbreaks over the past year as it was one of the first countries that shut borders when the virus first emerged.
Officials Announce New Venue Of Concern
NSW reported zero locally transmitted COVID-19 cases Thursday and five confirmed infections linked to overseas travel.
Despite no local cases over the past 24 hours, local health officials are still keeping their guard up. A new venue of interest was announced by the authorities early Friday.
The local government said the XOPP restaurant located in Sydney's Chinatown has become a venue of concern after contact tracing efforts. Any person who visited it April 28 between 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. are required to undergo COVID-19 testing.
Contact tracers have been busy tracking down patient zero after a couple with no links to high-risk situations or groups tested positive.
Where Is The Missing Link?
Officials have linked a U.S. traveler to the couple but other than this there are no other channels for transmissions.
The traveler in question has been in quarantine since April but the couple, who live in the eastern suburbs, have not been to the hospital system or the quarantine facility recently.
On Thursday, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said while she was pleased with the developments in Sydney there were concerns about whether the "missing link" between the infected couple and a quarantined traveler from the U.S. will be determined or not.
Berejiklian said the city won't go into lockdown but she urged people who may have dropped by venues of concern to get tested as soon as possible.
She also encouraged NSW residents to pursue their Mother's Day plans as long as proper social distancing is practiced and mask-wearing is exercised when in public indoor areas.
