Trans-Tasman bubble not burst by Kiwi Covid-19 positive case

The trans-Tasman bubble has survived its first test with borders remaining open after a positive COVID case at Auckland Airport.

The trans-Tasman bubble started strongly on Monday with full aeroplanes landing at airports throughout Australia. Picture: Glenn Hampson

The day-old trans-Tasman ­bubble has survived its first test, with borders remaining open after a worker at Auckland Airport tested positive to COVID-19.

The fully vaccinated cleaner was believed to have become infected while cleaning an aircraft that carried passengers from a high-risk country into New ­Zealand.

Despite the initial alarm, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she would anticipate “movement continuing” across the Tasman.

“When we opened (the bubble) on both sides, we of course knew we would continue to have cases connected to our border,” Ms Ardern said. “We accept that’s going to be part of our journey together. I think Australia accepts that, and for both sides we’re always looking for a clear connection to the border and in this case there is.”

Health Minister Greg Hunt said the Australian government had full confidence in the New Zealand health system, following a briefing by his Kiwi counterpart Chris Hipkins.

“They’re on to this,” said Mr Hunt. “We know how to deal with this, New Zealand knows how to deal with this.”

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said “a case or two was manageable” as she downplayed sug­gestions the travel corridor should be shut in response.

Travel industry leaders breathed a sigh of relief that the “panic button had not been pressed” as a result of the Auckland case.

Australian Tourism Industry Council executive director Simon Westaway said it was great to see a “measured considered response from both sides of the Tasman”.

“These travel bubbles just do not exist anywhere else — it’s pretty innovative stuff and it’s encouraging to see they can manage a case like this,” he said.

“I commend all parties involved because consumer confidence is going to drive the success of this.”

Queensland Tourism Industry Council chief executive Daniel Gschwind agreed the response to the airport case would give everyone some confidence in the bubble. “It is encouraging that the panic button wasn’t pressed. The damage to consumer confidence from drastic measures by governments is really quite severe and we want to avoid that,” he said.

“It seems increasingly clear to me this virus will be somewhere in the world for a very long time and we will have to find ways of accommodating our lives with that reality.”

Airlines were not making any changes to schedules as a result of the COVID case, with strong demand continuing for flights to New Zealand from Australia.

Flight Centre chief executive Graham Turner said it was a good sign that governments had not reacted “with panic” to the Auckland Airport case. “I think some of the governments have realised that lockdowns and border closures … don’t work, and just make people very wary of travelling.”

Mr Turner had not observed any significant cancellation of bookings to New Zealand, and said he would be surprised if that occurred. “A lot of the traffic we’re booking is VFR (visiting friends and relatives) and business travellers,” he said. “The business travellers will be only going for very short stays and the VFR travellers have been waiting for a long time for this so I don’t think they’ll be easily panicked.”

Ms Ardern said the cleaner’s infection with COVID was no indication New Zealand had a “leaky border”.

“It is by no means a leaky ­border if someone who cleans a plane that has carried people who have COVID becomes infected,” she said.

“It’s a demonstration that this is a highly transmissible virus.

“It’s the reason we test people who interact at the border with people who are travellers or, indeed, with planes that they are travelling on.

“It’s why we have all these measures, testing, infection controls and the vaccine.”