The rest of New Zealand will be at Level 1
Wellington, February 17, 2021
Auckland and wider New Zealand will drop one Level each – to Levels 2 and 1 respectively – from midnight tonight, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced.
There is one exception to the Alert Levels, which is the Papatoetoe High School, whose students and their families are being asked to stay home and return a negative Covid-19 test before returning to school on Monday.
Businesses can open now
All businesses including shopping malls, restaurants, gyms and physical fitness centres and other retail establishments can open, people can return to work, students can attend educational institutions, but everyone must follow Alert 2 Level rules and regulations.
People can also travel between regions and cities but again observe social distancing and Alert 2 and Alert 1 levels rules as applicable.
Review of Levels next week
“As ever, if you are sick, please stay home. This continues to be one of our most important restrictions. The Cabinet will review the Alert Levels again on Monday, February 20, 2021. There is every chance we will find further cases. While our expectation is that these will be linked to our current cases we still need Aucklanders to follow the Level 2 rules, especially over the weekend, so we can get the extra assurance we need to get back to Level 1 as soon as possible next week,” Ms Ardern said.
She said that it had always been the government’s approach to move down one Alert Level at a time to ensure the settings were appropriate.
Auckland went into Alert Level 3 and the rest of the country to Level 2 at midnight on Monday morning after three community cases in South Auckland were found over the weekend.
Two more cases today
Two more cases of Covid-19 in the community were reported today, both of them students at Papatoetoe High School.
School Principal Vaughan Couillault confirmed they were siblings, and one was a classmate of the existing case.
Director General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said that a further member of those students’ household has also tested positive since then. Cases D and E – the siblings reported earlier today – were not infectious when they were at school, he said.
Impact being assessed
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins told the Health Select Committee today that it was still too soon to say what impact the new cases would have on Cabinet’s Alert Level decision this afternoon.
Dr Bloomfield told the Select Committee that the siblings were isolating already as they were classed as a close contact and casual-plus contact.
He said that we should be encouraged that all five of the community cases remained in a tight formation with clear epidemiological links.
Dr Bloomfield said that testing of the household contacts would take place and exposure events would be reviewed. People linked to any exposure event would also be asked to isolate. He said that family members for the two siblings were also isolating.
Dr Bloomfield has noted that health appointments are essential and has advised anyone with an appointment in Auckland to ensure they go.
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