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Jacinda Arden announces what is in store at Alert Level 2

But don’t’ expect too many liberties

Venkat Raman
Auckland, May 7, 2020

Jacinda Ardern at her media conference today

                   Businesses can restart for staff and customers
                   Bubbles can cease
                   Domestic travel recommences 
                   Schools and early learning centres can open
                   Gatherings both indoors and outdoors are limited to 100 people
                   Public places reopen
                  Sport and recreation comes back on-stream, including professional sports competitions
                  Home gatherings must be kept small
                  Hospitality must follow the three S’s – seated, separated, single-server

Most businesses will be allowed to operate when the country moves to Alert Level 2 but Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern would not say when that would eventuate.

She said that the State Cabinet will decide if the Alert Level 3 will ease to the next lower level at its meeting on Monday, May 11, 2020 but the advice of the Director General of Health and the Health Ministry will prevail.

Ms Ardern said that social distancing will continue to be the normal with restrictions on large gathering- limited to 100 in most places at a given time.

The hospitality sector will open for business but bars, cafes and restaurants will observe the three ‘S’ formula: Seated, Separated and Single-Server.

That would mean that customers will be served at their tables by the same person who attends to them first. The 100- maximum rule will apply to these establishments as well.

Vigilance to continue

Ms Ardern said that Alert Level 2 will see significantly more activity open up across the country requiring New Zealanders to play it safe and remain vigilant so that the virus does not recur.

“Every alert level to fight COVID-19 is its own battle. When you win one, (but) it does not mean the war is over. In a nutshell, Level 2 is a safer normal, designed to get as many people back to work as possible and the economy back up and running in a safe way, made possible only by our collective actions at Levels 4 and 3 to beat the virus and break the chain of transmission,” she said.

Ms Ardern said that strong public health measures such as physical distancing, good hygiene and contact tracing will be essential to making Level 2 work.

Making Level 2 work

Ms Ardern said that there would be a much higher level of individual responsibly required at Level 2 to prevent the spread of the virus.

Even though the economy will be significantly opened up, we still need everyone to remain vigilant and continue to act like you and those around you have the virus, she said.

“On Monday, May 11, we will make a decision on whether to move, taking into consideration the best data and advice we can, recognising the impact of restrictions, and ensuring we do not put at risk all of the gains we have made. We need to balance the risk of the virus bouncing back against the strong desire to get the economy moving again,” she said.

“We will continue to act with caution and not move before it is safe to do, so entry into Level 2 could be phased, with higher risk activity occurring when there is stronger evidence it is safe to do so,” Ms Ardern said.

Today by Numbers

Director General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said that there was one reported case of confirmed case of Covid-19 overnight, taking the total number to 1489, of which 350 have been classified as probable cases. There were two people in hospitals on account of the virus.

New Zealand has so far had 21 deaths attributed to Coronavirus.

For everyone’s good health
If you suspect you have COVID-19 symptoms, please call 0800-3585453.
For any other COVID-19 related queries, please contact the government helpline 0800-779997
For text messages: 1737 
Visit allright.org.nz for practical mental health and wellbeing advice
For essential business enquiries essential@mbie.govt.nz or 0800-226657
To report breaches of self-isolation, please visit 105.police.govt.nz
Stay up to date on all the latest information on the New Zealand government’s website, Facebook, WhatsAppInstagram and LinkedIn.

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