<p>New Zealand on Friday paused arrivals from Western Australia, temporarily excluding the state's travellers from a quarantine-free bubble between the countries due to a Covid-19 outbreak.</p>.<p>"As set out in our Trans-Tasman bubble protocols, travel between New Zealand and Western Australia has been paused, pending further advice from the state government," a statement on the New Zealand government website said.</p>.<p>Earlier on Friday the Perth and Peel regions were sent into a three-day lockdown after Western Australia recorded its first community transmission of the virus in 12 months.</p>.<p>A man in his 50s, who recently left hotel quarantine, flew into Melbourne from Perth on Wednesday and tested positive for the coronavirus earlier Friday.</p>.<p>One of the man's close contacts in Perth also tested positive for the virus, raising concerns that it may have spread further into the community.</p>.<p>Despite testing negative for the virus before leaving hotel quarantine — a requirement for all international arrivals to Australia — authorities believe the man likely contracted Covid-19 from another hotel guest.</p>.<p>"He spent up to five days in Perth, and we now need to assume he was infectious," Western Australia premier Mark McGowan told a press conference.</p>.<p>Other Australian states and territories, whose residents are still able to fly to New Zealand under the bubble arrangement, moved to restrict arrivals from Western Australia following the outbreak.</p>.<p>The few instances of community transmission in recent months have been linked to hotel quarantine in major cities, and all the outbreaks have been successfully contained with similar brief lockdowns.</p>.<p>It is the first major snag since New Zealand and Australia opened their quarantine-free travel bubble on April 18, almost 400 days after both closed their international borders due to the pandemic.</p>.<p>The bubble, which followed months of negotiations between the largely coronavirus-free neighbours, was hailed as a major milestone in restarting a global travel industry that has been crippled by the Covid-19 pandemic.</p>.<p>Before Covid-19 brought New Zealand's tourism industry to its knees, it was the country's biggest export industry, with Australians accounting for about 40 percent of the international visitors.</p>
<p>New Zealand on Friday paused arrivals from Western Australia, temporarily excluding the state's travellers from a quarantine-free bubble between the countries due to a Covid-19 outbreak.</p>.<p>"As set out in our Trans-Tasman bubble protocols, travel between New Zealand and Western Australia has been paused, pending further advice from the state government," a statement on the New Zealand government website said.</p>.<p>Earlier on Friday the Perth and Peel regions were sent into a three-day lockdown after Western Australia recorded its first community transmission of the virus in 12 months.</p>.<p>A man in his 50s, who recently left hotel quarantine, flew into Melbourne from Perth on Wednesday and tested positive for the coronavirus earlier Friday.</p>.<p>One of the man's close contacts in Perth also tested positive for the virus, raising concerns that it may have spread further into the community.</p>.<p>Despite testing negative for the virus before leaving hotel quarantine — a requirement for all international arrivals to Australia — authorities believe the man likely contracted Covid-19 from another hotel guest.</p>.<p>"He spent up to five days in Perth, and we now need to assume he was infectious," Western Australia premier Mark McGowan told a press conference.</p>.<p>Other Australian states and territories, whose residents are still able to fly to New Zealand under the bubble arrangement, moved to restrict arrivals from Western Australia following the outbreak.</p>.<p>The few instances of community transmission in recent months have been linked to hotel quarantine in major cities, and all the outbreaks have been successfully contained with similar brief lockdowns.</p>.<p>It is the first major snag since New Zealand and Australia opened their quarantine-free travel bubble on April 18, almost 400 days after both closed their international borders due to the pandemic.</p>.<p>The bubble, which followed months of negotiations between the largely coronavirus-free neighbours, was hailed as a major milestone in restarting a global travel industry that has been crippled by the Covid-19 pandemic.</p>.<p>Before Covid-19 brought New Zealand's tourism industry to its knees, it was the country's biggest export industry, with Australians accounting for about 40 percent of the international visitors.</p>