Melbourne reported 11 new community Covid-19 cases on Monday. Photo / Getty Images
Melbourne reported 11 new community Covid-19 cases on Monday. Photo / Getty Images
Experts assure the risk of those returning to New Zealand on "green flights" this week bringing the Covid-19 virus with them remains "very low" despite 11 community cases reported in Melbourne on Monday.
New Zealand paused quarantine-free travel arrangements with Victoria on May 25 after the Australia state entered a lockdown amid a Covid-19 outbreak, stranding thousands of travellers.
After it was extended for parts of the state last week, New Zealand continued the pause while opening up options people to return from Wednesday, without needing to go into managed isolation.
Authorities said the lockdown meant they would have spent the equivalent of two weeks in isolation. Travellers also need to return a negative Covid-19 test before flying.
Director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said last week the risk of those returning - who also would be tested on arrival - bringing Covid-19 with them was "very low".
Despite Monday's cases and concerns of a the new more-infectious Delta variant rising, epidemiologist Dr Michael Baker said the risk continued to be "very low".
He recognised some in New Zealand could be nervous, as this was the first time travellers would be able to return from a place overseas experiencing an outbreak without needing to do managed isolation, but said there were "very good measures in place".
"There would always be a low risk of anyone bringing the virus back with them at the current rate of infection there, but with the lockdown and needing a test there and when they get back I think absolutely the risk remains very low."
However, Baker said he was more concerned about what was happening within New Zealand.
"Overseas where the vaccination rates are up around 70 per cent they are seeing really good results. It is good to see the vaccination rate here increasing too, but really it will take months before we are at a point anywhere being able to pause any community transmission, so we need to keep the pressure on."
Recently other countries in the Asia-Pacific region that had pursued an elimination strategy, such as Taiwan, had seen large outbreaks.
Baker said this was down to the emergence of new highly-infectious variants along with community and government complacency.
He said the current alert system here needed to be reviewed, and wanted to see scanning QR codes compulsory for "high risk" locations such as nightclubs and gyms.
As New Zealand continued to pursue travel arrangements Baker said the "three tier" green, amber and red country system could also be further refined, along with building specialist quarantine facilities for travellers from high-risk countries.
It was also "highly concerning" that not all border workers and airline staff had been vaccinated yet, Baker said.
"That is totally unacceptable, they have had months to do so."
Air New Zealand has unveiled its special "green flight" schedule for eligible travellers to return from Victoria to New Zealand.
There will be two flights a day between Melbourne and Auckland from Wednesday, and daily flights from Melbourne to Queenstown, Wellington and Christchurch from Friday, June 11.
Anyone who is normally resident in New Zealand, as well as people with humanitarian exemptions and critical workers stranded in Victoria, is able to take the flights.
Travellers need to take a private pre-departure Covid-19 test, within 72 hours of travel. These cost up to $180.
Customers have been told not to use a free testing site, as their results may not have all the information required for travel.
Travellers also need to complete the Ministry of Health's Nau Mai Rā travel declaration.
The travel pause is officially set to continue until at least 11.59pm on Thursday, June 10.
