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New Zealand to open quarantine-free "travel bubble" with Australia within 2 weeks

06 April 2021
Dan Ackermann

New Zealand will open a quarantine-free, "travel bubble" with Australia from 11:59pm on April 18, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Tuesday.

Why it matters: New Zealand tourism industry official Chris Roberts and Michael Barnett, an NZ Chamber of Commerce director, told Axios the plan could serve as a model that other countries can learn from.

  • The announcement reflects the success that both countries have had in managing the virus, per scientist Shaun Hendy, who heads a research center advising the NZ government.

The big picture: Australia and NZ shut their borders in March 2020, as COVID-19 spread across the world.

  • Australia announced a "safe travel zone" for New Zealanders to travel to parts of the country without quarantining last October. It was later expanded to the rest of the country. But New Zealanders had to check into managed quarantine hotels upon their return.
  • This two-way travel bubble means Australians and returning Kiwis won't have to stay in these hotels and are free to travel around the country without restrictions beyond wearing masks on public transport.

For the record: New Zealand last detected a coronavirus infection in the community on Feb. 28.

  • There are currently no reported cases in Australia. But New South Wales and Queensland have both reported locally acquired cases in the past week linked to a bachelorette party at a bar in NSW, near the states' border.

Between the lines: Te Pūnaha Matatini director Hendy said opening the travel corridor would be low-risk to New Zealand's COVID-free status, as Australia is also following a similar elimination strategy and it has "excellent" surveillance systems in place.

  • "Should an outbreak occur in one of the Australian States we would learn about it quickly and our government would have time to take steps to manage travel from any affected region," Hendy said.

Of note: Hendy notes that both countries have had failures at managed isolation and quarantine facilities.

  • "When this happens, travel restrictions will need to be brought back in," Hendy said.
  • Travelers should be prepared for an extended stay or quarantine on return if this happens, he added.

Editor's note: This a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.