Victoria will begin a seven-day lockdown from midnight on Thursday, in an effort to contain a Covid-19 outbreak in Melbourne's northern suburbs that has grown to 26 cases. Acting Premier James Merlino confirmed the state will enter the "circuit breaker" lockdown.
The developing situation means health officials on this side of the Tasman are expected to continue the travel pause with Victoria, which officially started on Tuesday night for 72 hours initially.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said at the time that the pause would be under constant review.
An update on quarantine-free travel between New Zealand and Victoria was expected to be released later today, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.
The number of positive Covid-19 case numbers in Melbourne continues to rise and was at 34 this afternoon, according to Health Victoria. The number of locations of interest being announced by Health Victoria is also continuing to rise and there are now 150 exposure sites across Melbourne.
- Check the Victoria locations here
"Given the time frames, it is crucial that everyone who has been in the state of Victoria since May 11 keeps checking Victoria Health’s website detailing the locations of interest," the Ministry of Health said.
• Anyone who has been at a location of interest at the specified time must immediately self-isolate and call New Zealand's Healthline on 0800 358 5453 for advice on when to get tested, the ministry said.
• Anyone in New Zealand who has been in the wider Melbourne area since May 11 who develops symptoms while in New Zealand should also ring Healthline and arrange to get tested.
• Anyone who has been in the Whittlesea local government area since May 11 should ring Healthline for advice.
“Given this increased risk, it’s critically important everyone keeps a record of where they’ve been by scanning QR codes or keeping a manual diary of their movements. It can help contact tracers quickly find potential close and casual contacts if there is a positive Covid-19 case here in New Zealand,” says Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said.
“And of course, anyone with Covid-19 symptoms should isolate, be tested and remain isolated until the receive their test results."
One new case at NZ border
There are no new cases of Covid in the community in New Zealand today and just one new case to report in recent returnees in managed isolation facilities since the Ministry’s last update yesterday.
It was not yet known where the person had flown from, but they arrived in New Zealand via Qatar on May 25 and were now in a managed isolation facility in Auckland, the Ministry said.
Two previously reported cases have recovered. The seven-day rolling average of new cases detected at the border is two.
The total number of active cases in New Zealand today is 21, while the total number of confirmed cases is 2314.
- ODT Online
