The extension of the pause on travel will take it through to next Friday. Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins and Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield have provided an update on the travel bubble situation. This afternoon, Victorian government announced the state would go into lockdown for a week to contain a growing Covid-19 outbreak in Melbourne. New Zealand's government put the quarantine-free travel for people arriving from the state on pause earlier this week as cases began to be detected in the community. The number of active community cases in Melbourne continues to rise and was at 34 at 1pm (NZ time), according to Health Victoria.

Source: Otago Daily Times May 27, 2021 05:03 UTC