Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Photo / Mark Baker
Five new cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in Victoria yesterday, bringing the Melbourne cluster to 35.
Four of the new cases are linked to a delivery driver.
It comes after the New Zealand paused quarantine-free travel with Victoria until Friday, June 4 after Melbourne went into lockdown.
Hundreds of Melbourne pubgoers have also been forced into isolation after being exposed to the virus, Victoria's testing commander, Jeroen Weimar, revealed yesterday.
Five pubs and clubs had been identified as areas of concern, including Three Monkeys in Prahran, Somewhere Bar in Prahran, The Palace Hotel in South Melbourne, The Local in Port Melbourne and The Sporting Globe in Mordialloc.
So far officials had identified 500 close contacts across those venues.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his delegation are due to arrive in New Zealand today after Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed he'd had pre-departure testing for the virus.
Morrison had been in Victoria recently and there had been some uncertainty about whether he would be required to a return a negative test before getting on a plane.
Hipkins on Friday said he had, while announcing pre-departure testing was being made mandatory for anyone flying to New Zealand from Australia who had been in Victoria recently.
The "additional precaution" meant travellers - who had been in Victoria on or after May 20 - must return a negative Covid-19 test before they got on a plane, Hipkins said.
That rule would take full effect from Monday.
Failure to produce evidence could result in people being denied boarding, or penalties on arrival in New Zealand. The only exception was for children under age 2, Hipkins said.
Hawke's Bay hosts Christmas lunches for those seeking company and support.