Cabinet meets as Australia's Covid-19 outbreak worsens

The Prime Minister and Cabinet are currently meeting over the trans-Tasman bubble as the Covid-19 situation in Australia worsens. 

by Jessica Mutch McKay and Anna Whyte

It is considering whether New Zealand's bubble needs to be paused to the whole of Australia. It is already closed off to three states, NSW, SA and Victoria. 

Jacinda Ardern's office told 1 NEWS the virtual meeting had been planned for several days. The meeting is likely to finish after 4.30pm.

Any decision on travel bubble arrangements will not be announced until tomorrow. 

Cabinet generally meets on Mondays, or in exceptional circumstances, but not usually in the middle of a week when Parliament is not sitting. 

It comes after cases continue to climb in NSW, despite the state having been in lockdown for weeks. 

NSW has reported 124 new community cases of Covid-19 , the highest daily number since the outbreak began in Sydney in mid-June.

The quarantine-free travel bubble pauses between New Zealand and three Australian states, NSW, Victoria and South Australia, was yesterday extended into next week.