Brisbane's snap lockdown, triggered by four Covid-19 cases in the community, won't affect the Government's plan to announce a commencement date for a travel bubble with Australia next week, Jacinda Ardern says.
"All it does is demonstrate why it's important we get the settings right and the planning right," the Prime Minister told media after meeting with Cabinet today.
"We will have situations where New Zealand will have to respond to cases in Australia, in the same way Australia's had to deal with cases in New Zealand."
Careful planning and procedures needed to be in place "to make sure we can respond quickly to keep New Zealanders safe" in the event of an outbreak in Australia, she added.
Two weeks from now Kiwis will learn when quarantine-free travel across the ditch will resume.
Brisbane this morning was placed in a snap three-day lockdown after four Covid-19 cases emerged in the community. Authorities said they were concerned the cases had been out-and-about.
Last Monday, Ardern said she would announce the commencement date of the trans-Tasman bubble on April 6.
Ardern warned last week there would be an "element of flyer-beware" should the borders shut while visiting Australia, or if Australians are in New Zealand.
It comes after 10 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed overnight.
Today, she reiterated any plan with Australia would make sure New Zealand could restrict travel from various states in the event of a local outbreak.
"If a state has an outbreak, if we're confident borders are in place, we could turn off that state whilst continuing travel elsewhere."
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