The Government on Sunday extended COVID-19 restrictions in Wellington for a further two days.
Greater Wellington moved to COVID-19 alert level 2 last week when a Sydney tourist tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from a trip to the capital last weekend, with officials believing he caught the virus before arriving in Wellington.
Across the Tasman, Sydney residents are being warned its latest COVID-19 outbreak will get worse before it gets better - with cases forecast to surge in the coming days.
What you need to know:
- No cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the Wellington community since the Sydney traveller tested positive early last week
- Wellington moved to alert level 2 at 6pm on Wednesday and will remain under the measures until at least 11:59pm on Tuesday
- The Sydney traveller was confirmed to have the Delta variant, which is more infectious and potentially more harmful than the original virus and its other variants
- On Saturday night the Government announced a three-day pause on quarantine-free travel with the whole of Australia as the situation across the Tasman worsens
- Thirty community cases of COVID-19 were recorded in Australia's New South Wales on Sunday - all linked to the original cluster which originated in the Sydney suburb of Bondi. The city and some surrounding areas entered a hard two-week COVID-19 lockdown on Saturday.
Wellington locations of interest
Qantas Flight QF163 Sydney to Wellington, Rydges Hotel, Unichem Wellington Central Pharmacy, Te Papa Tongarewa - general, Te Papa Tongarewa - Exhibition Surrealist Art: Masterpieces from Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Jack Hackett's Bar, Floridita's Restaurant, Highwater Eatery, Pickle & Pie café, The Weta Cave shop, The Lido café, Unity Books, Countdown Cable Lane, One Red Dog, the toilets at 4 Kings Bar, Prince Barbers and Wellington Airport.
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6:30pm - A 42-year-old Australian man who defied COVID-19 restrictions and crashed a press conference at Sydney's Lower North Shore on Monday morning has been fined.
The man, who was not a member of the media, interrupted the proceedings asking the Commissioner if he had received his notice of 'cease and desist' before approaching him with paperwork.
NSW police reported while being removed from the immediate area, the man announced that he was the prime creator of this earth.
It was determined it was not a reasonable excuse to breach COVID-19 restrictions.
Commissioner Mick Fuller said even the prime creator is not above the Public Health Orders.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Cabinet had commissioned advice on making QR code scanning mandatory at some high-risk locations, and would look to consider that advice next week.
Locations considered high-risk could include include bars and restaurants and other places where people were at an increased risk, she said.
The government would also consider mandating face mask use in regions that were at alert level 2 and higher as well as some high-risk places, she said. Mask wearing is already mandatory on public transport.
"The rise of the Delta variant and the risk is poses to the trans-Tasman bubble means it's timely to consider new measures for our tool box to strengthen the bubble and reduce the risk of Covid spreading in New Zealand," she said.
"In order to get and keep in front of the virus we need to be able to contact trace quickly."
She said masks could stop the virus from spreading through droplets in air, and were useful when physical distancing was not possible.
RNZ
5:35pm - In the latest New South Wales COVID-19 update, health minister Brad Hazzard said the West Hoxton party "super spreader" event shows the importance of vaccinations against COVID-19.
The highly contagious Delta strain of COVID-19 is reported to have infected everyone who attended a Sydney birthday party except for six people who had already received a COVID-19 vaccination, ABC reported.
"Obviously, it's an unfolding situation … but the early and strong indication from that party are if you're vaccinated you are much more likely to not be infected with COVID-19.
"Short message is, get vaccinated."
5:15pm - Australia's Northern Territory has extended its COVID-19 lockdown in greater Darwin.
Five cases linked to a major gold mine sent Greater Darwin into a 48-hour lockdown on Sunday and the outbreak has now ballooned to seven cases, ABC News reported.
NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner confirmed, as a result, the lockdown would be extended for another 72 hours until Friday 1pm.
"The risk to the community has grown in the past 24 hours," he said.
"We are now in an extremely critical period."
4:55pm - Pitch Perfect star Rebel Wilson has sparked outrage for condemning Sydney's latest lockdown.
Wilson posted photos from the supermarket showing empty shelves with the caption: "You can't keep locking down as a strategy".
Commenters dubbed the star "entitled" and "privileged", insisting she stick to show business and stay out of public health issues.
4:25pm - Ardern said the Government would be "applying a level of cautiousness" in assessing whether to reopen the travel bubble with Australia on Tuesday, given the "level of uncertainty" in the country.
4:20pm - Hipkins said the two travellers from New Territory who are contacts of a positive case in the state are isolating. He said he doesn't have any information on their date of arrival.
Ardern said they are self-isolating, and are not in a managed isolation facility.
4:18pm - Ardern says the Government is not in a position to compensate businesses affected by the pause in the trans-Tasman bubble.
4:16pm - Hipkins says health officials are seeing "good testing of the people who need to be tested" but he urged anyone else showing symptoms to also get tested.
4:09pm - The Government is also looking at making the use of face masks mandatory at alert level 2 or higher in "certain high-risk locations", Ardern says.
4:08pm - Ardern says the Government is looking at making QR code scanning mandatory in high-risk places.
4pm - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins are set to face media in the post-Cabinet press conference. It's expected they will face questions about how the Government is dealing with the current COVID-19 situation.
3:48pm - South Australia's Premier Steven Marshall has announced new restrictions in the state will come in at midnight tonight.
Masks will be reintroduced for high-risk settings (such as aged care facilities, hospitals, etc), and will be highly recommended on public transport. Limits of 150 people at private gatherings at homes or in halls will also be introduced, and licenced venues will only be able to have one person per two square metres. He said the restrictions will last for at least a week.
3:40pm - Western Australia has recorded one new community case, the state's Premier Mark McGowan says.
He said the infected person was a 32-year-old woman who had only minimal contact with another postive case, which was "a concerning development".
3:25pm - NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is warning that case number in the state could "go up considerably".
She said although around a third of NSW's 18 new cases were in isolation for their entire infectious period, and three in isolation for part of the time, some others "unfortunately were active in the community".
"While the numbers today are less than the numbers yesterday, we have to be prepared for the numbers to bounce around and we have to be prepared for the numbers to go up considerably,' the Sydney Morning Herald reported her as saying.
2:58pm - The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has recorded zero new cases today.
2:50pm - Queensland's Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is reminding people in the state to wear a mask, after new restrictions were introduced earlier today.
2:35pm - Australia's Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the country will only reopen its international borders if it's safe to do so and based on medical advice, Reuters reports.
Frydenberg was speaking at the launch of a 2021 'Intergenerational Report', which projects an outlook for the economy and the Australian government’s budget over the next 40 years.
The country shut its borders in March 2020 to help contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
New Zealand's Government is set to decide on Wednesday if the pause on the trans-Tasman bubble will be extended.
2:13pm - Victoria has recorded no new local cases, with two cases recorded in hotel quarantine, the state's Health Minister Martin Foley has just announced.
1:57pm - The Ministry of Health says the total number of tests processed by laboratories to date is 2,271,525.
On Sunday, 3,527 tests were processed nationwide and the seven-day rolling average is 6,399.
1:46pm - Two contacts of a positive case reported in Australia's Northern Territory have travelled to New Zealand, the Ministry of Health says.
The positive case was detected in the Newmont’s Granite gold mine, 350km north-west of Alice Springs.
"Both are in isolation and being tested according to the type of contact they had with the case at the mine. One has returned a negative test result already, and the result for the other individual is expected tomorrow. They will both undertake around day-five testing.
"New Zealand health officials remain in contact with our Australian counterparts and are closely monitoring the situation."
1:43pm - The Ministry of Health says there are currently 28 active cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand.
The seven-day rolling average of new cases detected at the border is three. Since January 1 2021, there have been 76 historical cases, out of a total of 566 cases.
The total number of confirmed cases is 2382.
1:38pm - There are no community cases in New Zealand today, the Ministry of Health has confirmed. Ten new cases were recorded in managed isolation.
So far, 2597 people have been identified as potential contacts of the Australian person who visited Wellington. Of these total contacts, 2273 have returned a negative test.
The remainder are either being followed up or are awaiting a test result and eight have been excluded from testing, the Ministry of Health said.
1:15pm - Speaking to media, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian reminded residents in NSW to avoid leaving home unless they "absolutely have to".
"That is the effect of the lockdown, it helps when people don't move around," she said.
"Please don't go around picking up things or delivering things unless you absolutely have to do."
1pm - NSW recorded 18 new locally acquired cases in the 24 hours to 8pm Sunday night, health officials say.
"Fifteen of these cases are linked to the Bondi cluster, two are close contacts of a previously reported unlinked case. Investigations are ongoing into the unlinked case, a possible Westfield Bondi Junction exposure."
There have now been 130 locally acquired cases reported since June 16, when the first case of the Bondi cluster, a driver who transported international flight crew, was reported. Of these, 124 are now linked to the Bondi cluster.
Officials said three new overseas-acquired cases and one interstate acquired case were recorded in the same period, bringing the total number of cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 5,589.
11:50am - A new COVID-19 community vaccination centre opened in Albany, on Auckland's North Shore, this morning. The centre will initially operate from Monday to Friday and once it's fully up to speed will be able to vaccinate up to 500 per day, Waitematā District Health Board said.
The centre is located at the end of Oaklands Rd, off the Albany Highway, and vaccination at the centre is by appointment only.
11:35am - Newshub's Australia correspondent Emma Cropper says most of Australia is on edge today, as people wait for case numbers across the country to be announced.
Regarding the two new community cases in Queensland, she says authorities are not too concerned about one of those cases, who is in isolation, but the other case is more worrying.
"The second one is an infectious miner who had come from Northern Territory and does have that contagious Delta variant."
In New South Wales, she says residents are being told to prepare for worse numbers than yesterday, when 30 community cases were reported.
11:12am - She announced a number of restrictions that will come into effect in south-east Queensland from 1am on Tuesday.
The restrictions are:
- Masks will be required in the local government areas of Noosa, Sunshine Coast, Ipswich, Logan , Redlands, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Scenic Rim, Lockyer Valley, Moreton Bay and Somerset
- The one per four square metre rule will be reintroduced
- Weddings will be restricted to 20 people
- Visitors in the home will be limited to 30 people
11:08am - Queensland’s Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says two new community cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the state. One further case was recorded in hotel quarantine.
10:50am - Businesses in Wellington say they feel hobbled under the ongoing level restrictions.
One manager told RNZ that in some ways level 3 would be preferable to the more frustrating level 2.
"Stricter lockdown like with like guaranteed assistance from the Government rather than the level 2 sort of situation where you get tied at the knees and the Government's position is sort of like you can operate, you can trade, you can still make your money but actually it's just like a really slow death rather than like an actual action plan," the manager said.
Read the full story here.
10:33am - The Australian Government is holding a meeting over its COVID-19 outbreak, with national security authorities asked to attend.
Former Australia federal health department boss Jane Halton says she's "very worried" about the Sydney outbreak.
"We're seeing those reports of where people who have been diagnosed with COVID have gone and we know they've exposed lots and lots of people," she told Sunrise.
10:26am - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern earlier told The AM Show she's had no word of any new community cases of COVID-19 in Wellington overnight
10:20am - The National Party is cautiously throwing its support behind the decision to keep Wellington at COVID-19 alert level 2.
Party leader Judith Collins told Magic Talk's Peter Williams they have no choice but to trust the Government's process.
"We don't have the information that the Government has. We have to work on the basis that they are doing the right thing."
10:15am - On The AM Show earlier, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said COVID-19 vaccination will not be a "magic bullet" in New Zealand's arsenal against the virus.
New Zealand's vaccination rate has become a point of contention, with the Government insisting its staggered rollout is meeting its targets despite public pushback against the sluggish progress.
But Ardern says a high rate of vaccination is not conducive to relaxed restrictions and a return to pre-pandemic normality.
10am - There's heartache and frustration for businesses depending on tourism as the trans-Tasman bubble pauses temporarily.
The Government will on Monday consider lifting the pause on some Australian states. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has already ruled out New South Wales, with Sydney battling a COVID-19 outbreak.
Queenstown Lakes Mayor Jim Boult has spoken to hoteliers in his district and says they're hurting.
"One described it as an avalanche of cancellations," he told The AM Show earlier. "I think the problem here is not only the bookings now but also the longer term bookings."
9:45am - Australia Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says the Government is being mindful that "shops go broke" under COVID-19 lockdowns.
He also defended the Australia's vaccination rollout when appearing on Channel 7's Sunrise programme.
"We're up to over 7 million people vaccinated and that process has to keep rolling on.
"Seven million people is more than 5 percent," Joyce told Sunrise.
9:30am - Wellington's Te Papa will reopen on Tuesday after a six day closure due to a visit from the COVID-infected Sydney traveller.
As of Sunday afternoon, more than half of affected Te Papa staff had returned negative COVID-19 tests while others were awaiting results.
9:15am - The quarantine-free travel pause with Australia has been another hit for tourist hotspots including Queenstown.
Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Jim Boult says the impact will be felt widely.
"The whole [tourism] industry will be affected," he told The AM Show.
9am - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is warning the COVID-19 vaccine is "no silver bullet".
Ardern earlier told The AM Show New Zealanders can't afford to be complacent and risk going backwards.
"Once we're vaccinated, we've got more options - we're less likely to have things like lockdowns and it means that we've got more options at our border.
"Yes, we might still have checks in place but we might be able to pull back on the way we use that 14 days of quarantine."
8:50am - An emergency meeting has been called by Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison amid a COVID-19 outbreak that's spread from New South Wales to other states, Channel 7's Sunrise programme reported.
8:42am - Some Sydney residents flocked to beaches on Sunday despite being in lockdown, prompting a warning from the police.
At Bondi, where the current COVID-19 cluster originated, people were sunbathing and socialising at the beach on Sunday, 7 News reported.
8:38am - Epidemiologist Michael Baker says Wellington so far has dodged a bullet and there's a couple of reasons why COVID-19 might not have spread.
"Some people are not infectious - it's just the nature of their immune systems," Prof Baker told The AM Show. "That may be what has saved us."
8:35am - Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Jim Boult says the pause on quarantine-free travel with Australia will hurt his region.
He told The AM Show the situation is terrible.
"The timing is awful. We've been hanging out for the school holidays... and [the] Aussies are locked up at home."
8:30am - Strict border measures are on the horizon as the Government works to boost the COVID-19 barrier. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says officials are seriously considering pre-departure testing for new arrivals from Australia.
She says however that would rely on support from airlines as well.
"It's not something we could announce straight away," she told The AM Show.
8:06am - Public health expert Michael Baker is urging New Zealanders to mask up and scan in using the COVID Tracer App.
Prof Baker told The AM Show now's the time to brush up on the basics.
"When I talk to my colleagues in Sydney and Melbourne... it's a legal requirement to scan in over there - they're used to it.
"People wear masks indoors because they know this virus spreads by an aerosol."
8:01am - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has dashed hopes the trans-Tasman bubble will fully reopen to all Australian states.
Ardern told The AM Show there's a lot to consider before lifting the pause.
"If we're in a position to reopen, obviously there will be some states that will not be included - New South Wales being one of them.
"We'll assess the status of the other states and look to reopen those that we consider safe, but probably with extra precaution."
7:48am - PM Ardern is being pushed on New Zealand's COVID-19 vaccination rates. She notes vaccination is "not a magic bullet" - pointing to the UK which is still reporting outbreaks.
7:43am - Ardern says pre-departure COVID-19 testing is a "serious option" the Government is considering for when the trans-Tasman bubble reopens.
7:40am - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is on The AM Show now. She says despite no community cases of COVID-19 since restritctions were placed on Wellington, there's still more testing to be done.
7:30am - An epidemiologist is calling for the Government to "up the ante" when it comes to COVID-19 protocols.
Michael Baker says New Zealand needs better protection.
"In New Zealand, we've got by with some things being voluntary and people not doing them very much - like scanning in [with the COVID Tracer App] and like using masks indoors," Prof Baker told The AM Show. "We need to move past that."
7:14am - Michael Baker, an epidemiologist from the University of Otago, says he's confident Wellington has "escaped" a COVID-19 outbreak.
"This is just the nature of the virus," Prof Baker told The AM Show. "Many places are not being so lucky and so that could be New Zealand shortly unless we upgrade all our defences."
7:10am - There were 38 cases of different COVID-19 variants reported in Australia by late Sunday; 30 of them in Sydney, four in Northern Territory, three in Queensland and one in Western Australia.
It was the first time in months so many different regions in Australia had reported new infections on the same day, and Health Minister Greg Hunt warned Australians there would be more to come.
"I'm confident we will get through it. There will be cases that follow," he said. "We need to be honest and aware of that."
- Reuters
7am - The bursting of the Australian travel bubble is being seen as a chance to reset the rules. Nick Wilson, a public health professor from the University of Otago, told Newshub there needs to be extra precautions.
"There's quite a range of options that need to be looked at closely for when we reopen the quarantine-free travel with Australia. There can be testing before people leave.
"We could also test people on arrival," Prof Wilson said.
6:35am - Sydney residents are ignoring pleas from officials not to panic buy after the city was plunged into lockdown on Saturday.
Pasta, flour and toilet paper are flying off the shelves in supermarkets across the city.
6:30am - Sydney residents are being warned its latest COVID-19 outbreak will get worse before it gets better.
The city recorded 30 new community cases of COVID-19 on Sunday - its worst day yet in the latest outbreak which originated in the suburb of Bondi.
Over 50 percent of Sunday's new cases weren't in isolation while infectious.
"We do anticiapte that, in the next few days, case numbers are likely to increase even beyond what we've seen today," New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Sunday.
6:15am - Wellington residents are being asked to be patient as they face two more days in COVID-19 alert level 2.
Nick Wilson, a public health professor from the University of Otago, says extending restrictions is a logical step.
"All they have to do is look at the news coming out of Australia where there are very serious problems with COVID at the moment spreading, and that's partly due to the very infectious nature of the new Delta variant," he told Newshub.
