Photo: RNZA top epidemiologist is surprised at the blanket ban on quarantine-free travel with Australia, as devastated travellers voice heartbreak and frustration at the travel bubble pause. The quarantine-free travel bubble with Australia has been stopped for three days as of 10.30pm last night, the first time the bubble to all Australian states has been paused. The 72-hour pause to quarantine-free travel has meant Air New Zealand has had to cancel all passenger flights to New Zealand from Australia. University of Otago public health expert Professor Michael Baker told Newstalk ZB he was surprised how extreme the ban was. He said a previous ban on travel from New South Wales was because of an expanding outbreak with the highly contagious Delta variant of Covid-19.

Source: Otago Daily Times June 26, 2021 19:41 UTC