By Stephen Wright

WELLINGTON, New Zealand--Travel between New Zealand and Australia could resume from September if both countries are sure they're not at risk of exporting coronavirus cases to each other, New Zealand's Prime Minister said.

A task force developing protocols for quarantine-free travel plans to give its recommendations to the two governments in early June. The Australian side this week floated September as a possible start date.

"September is realistic, but I haven't given specifics around what date precisely," New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a video posted on a local news site Thursday.

Both countries have contained spread of the coronavirus with lockdown measures that are now partly eased. New Zealand on Thursday reported a sixth day of no new cases and Australian cases have dwindled to fewer than 15 a day with some states reporting zero new cases.

Ms. Ardern said she and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison are "very, very keen" to open borders as soon as it's safe.

"We are just giving ourselves the space to make sure that we are ready to go, that we are safe and that we're not going to export risks to one another," she said.

Border closures have hammered tourism in both countries and allowing travel across the Tasman Sea would be a welcome cushion for businesses that are also reeling from severe recessions brought on by lockdown measures.

Before the outbreak, New Zealand was the most popular overseas destination for Australians, accounting for 40% of all foreign tourists, while New Zealanders were the second-largest source of visitors to Australia, after China. 



  Write to Stephen Wright at stephen.wright@wsj.com