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Chris J Ratcliffe / Getty-Images
Don’t expect to fly to Europe anytime soon.
New Zealand is part of informal discussions with eight other countries that are winning the fight against the Coronavirus, but the talks are not yet focused on travel between nations.
The “first engine group”, led by Austria, contains Austria, Australia, Denmark, Greece, Norway, the Czech Republic, Israel, Singapore and New Zealand.
The Guardian reported Wednesday that the group was discussing travel between nations, which have been quite successful in the battle against Covid-19.
But a spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office said that while New Zealand was involved in the talks, at the moment they were more focused on sharing the Covid-19 experiences, not on one big travel bubble.
Fake images
Jacinda Ardern attended the group’s first meeting.
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* Coronavirus: don’t plan European vacations for a while
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“It really is just for sharing experiences, particularly for those who move early,” the spokesperson said.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern attended the group’s first meeting by teleconference, but did not join last week’s meeting.
The New Zealand ambassador to Austria attended instead.
POOL VISION
Don’t expect the Australian-New Zealand border to open soon.
However, New Zealand is actively working on a travel bubble with Australia, with business leaders and government officials working to establish a process so that people in each country can travel to the other without having to go through a 14-day quarantine in both sides.
There is currently a ban on any non-resident entering New Zealand.
New Zealand residents and citizens entering New Zealand must remain in “controlled isolation”, essentially quarantined, for 14 days.
There has been talk of expanding the Trans-Tasman bubble once it is established, but this has focused mainly on the Pacific islands, particularly in the kingdom of New Zealand countries like Tokelau, Cook Island and Niue.
The joint statement by Ardern and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrisson explicitly mentioned the expansion of the bubble to the Pacific.
Once we have established effective travel arrangements at Tasman, we will also explore opportunities to expand the concept to members of our broader Pacific family, allowing travel between Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Island countries. We will work with interested Pacific countries on parameters and arrangements to manage risks. “
New Zealand saw its third day with zero new Covid-19 cases since the shutdown began Tuesday.
