Wellington: New Zealand health authorities have poured cold water on the prospect of Auckland residents leaving a stage-three lockdown early, keeping the seven-day measure announced last week until at least Sunday morning.
The city of 2 million people will go into level-two restrictions then, while the rest of the country will go to level one.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Credit:Getty Images
Prime Minister Ardern said no new cases had been reported for five consecutive days and that was “good news” but the lockdown continued to be necessary because of the seriousness of the UK variant.
“Level-three provided us with an extra layer of security while we addressed the unknowns.”
She rejected suggestions of ending the lockdown at midnight on Friday, saying the remainder of a transmission cycle needed to be seen through.
Chairs and tables outside a closed cafe in Auckland, New Zealand.Credit:Bloomberg
She said health officials still wanted restrictions in place in case they found new cases. “Sticking with the full seven days was the wise approach,” she said.
NZ Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said it was reassuring that there hadn’t been any more cases.
“This also reflects the work of contact tracers last week who cast the net wide to reach thousands of contacts. That certainly helped with us being able to get around the outbreak.”
They have identified around 6000 contacts linked to the February cluster since February 14. Wastewater tests at key sites have been negative. There’s been a 58 per cent jump in the use of the NZ Covid Tracer app. “That’s a massive credit to everyone,” Ardern said.
Under level two, businesses can open and people can gather in groups of up to 100 people. Under level three, people must stay home in their bubble other than going to work, school if they have to, or for local recreation. Business cannot offer services that involve close personal contact, unless for essential services. Level-one restrictions apply only to tight border security measures, restricting the number of people coming into the country and making overseas travel unattractive for most.
In the coming weeks, Ardern will set out a “road map” for what the year will look like as the government continues to respond to the pandemic.
Stuff.co.nz, with staff writers
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