Travellers from Australia are likely to need a pre-departure Covid-19 test if quarantine-free travel reopens, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says. A small contingent of Cabinet ministers agreed to burst the trans-Tasman bubble on Saturday evening for 72 hours, amid rising concern that positive Covid-19 cases had flown across Australia. ROBERT KITCHIN/Stuff COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said the Government was looking at requiring pre-departure Covid-19 testing for people travelling from Australia. READ MORE:* Trans-Tasman bubble: Government working on 'contingency plans' for Kiwis stuck in Sydney* New Zealand could be invited to join travel bubble with Hong Kong, Singapore* Trans-Tasman bubble: How the Covid-19 traffic light system works* Trans-Tasman bubble: Quarantine-free travel between Australia and New Zealand will restart on April 19* Covid-19: Trans-Tasman officials 'concluding' bubble travel arrangements“There are some days where Covid-19 throws up nothing but an undesirable slate of options, and we're certainly in the situation at the moment. Under the system, it was not expected that quarantine-free travel to a state be paused in circumstances of no community transmission.

Source: Stuff June 27, 2021 03:33 UTC