Update from AHBIC  - 11am, 2nd July 2022.

A quick update. Surveillance has been ramping up in the zones around Newcastle. The good news is that there still has not been any new identifications without direct links to the initial commercial beekeeper.

Precautionary tracing and surveillance activities have commenced north of the Newcastle area focusing on direct contacts of the operation. So far initial survey work has resulted in NO detections which is great news. This work will continue over the weekend with the help of industry volunteers in the area.

AHBIC has heard all the concerns about burning gear unnecessarily and we are working hard with the incident management team to find a practical solution. I will keep you updated when a plan to save gear is put in place.

We have a large amount of miticide strips being airfreighted from New Zealand this weekend to ensure we have enough surveillance tools on the ground, with more enroute.

AHBIC has been attending the cross border working group with good progress being made towards a permit system to allow beekeepers to got to Almonds. This group will meet again this week and I will update you with further progress.