Covid 19 coronavirus: Auckland to level 3 tonight; rest of country at level 2

Jason Walls is a political reporter for the New Zealand Herald

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Auckland will move to Covid-19 alert level 3 from 11.59 tonight for three days.

The rest of New Zealand will be at level 2 over the same time period, according to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who made the announcement tonight.

She said those alert levels will be reviewed every 24 hours but the planned three-day lockdown should allow the Government to get more information about the new community outbreak.

At the same time, Auckland will undergo a testing blitz to find out how extensive the outbreak is.

Speaking to reporters tonight, Ardern said the lockdown was the "right thing to do."

"I'm asking New Zealanders to continue to be strong and to be kind."

She said we all have this feeling of "not again… but we are going to be okay."

The three community cases announced earlier today triggered the new alert level restrictions.

The new cases – a mother, father and daughter from South Auckland's Papatoetoe – are considered "new and active".

The source of the initial case – believed to be the mother – is still unknown.

But it is believed to be linked to her work at LSG Sky chefs in Māngere where she handled laundry.

Ardern tonight said the Government is asking Aucklanders to "stay home" to stop the spread.

At 8.25pm, a nationwide push alert went out to mobile phones across the country, warning of the upcoming lockdown.

In Auckland, Ardern said people should work from home where possible.

And she is asking that children stay home from school in Auckland.

For the rest of New Zealand, schools remain open.

Cabinet made the decision after an emergency meeting tonight – it was a "cautious approach" Ardern said.

Ardern said "we need to act with a high degree of caution" and "go hard and early".

- Stay at home and work remotely if possible

- Schools and daycare only open to children of essential workers

- Gatherings restricted to 10 people, but only for weddings and funerals

- Travel restrictions with borders around Auckland

- Public venues such as pools and playgrounds closed

LEVEL 2: Rest of New Zealand

- People can still go to work

Supermarkets and petrol stations will remain open so there was "no need to rush out to get any essential items."

Public venues, such as pools and playgrounds, will be closed.

Gatherings in Auckland are now reduced to 10 people, only for weddings and funerals.

That means the Prada Cup race will be postponed.

Ardern said she did not know when the race would resume.

But on events, she was clear: "If you can, postponement is the best thing at this point".

Ardern confirmed police would be setting up roadblocks at the Auckland "border" - they will be in place by tomorrow morning.

And said only people who are returning home should be going into Auckland. She advised her own Auckland MPs to stay in the city and not to travel.

Cabinet will be meeting around midday tomorrow, with an update at roughly 4pm – that would provide a "better picture" of the situation, Ardern said.

Ardern urged people to turn on the bluetooth function on their phone and "keep scanning".

There will be wide-ranging testing of people who are symptomatic, she said.

But she said there was no need for people who did not have symptoms to go get tested.

She said she doesn't want people to "clog up the system."

The Pak'nSave store in Manukau will remain open, despite the visit by one of the Covid-infected people. Photo / Peter Meecham

Officials are in the process of figuring out if the family – who are moving to the Jet Park MIQ facility – has infected anyone else.

Bloomfield said more genomic testing from the three cases will be released tonight.

He added that officials were "working under the assumption" that the new cases were one of the new variants - such as the South African or UK strains.

He said exposure through the mother's workplace was the "most likely" way she got Covid.

Ardern said today was an example of how "tricky Covid-19 has been."

Meanwhile, Bloomfield said he would "assume" that the mother would have been wearing PPE when she was doing the laundry.

Ardern said the woman was meant to be tested every two weeks - that means they would have been tested on February 1, but they were on annual leave at the time.

This is something the Government is looking into, she said.

Ardern said it was up to employers to ensure a regular testing cycle is maintained. Ardern said her expectation was that people keep up their testing rotation.

Papatoetoe High – the school where the daughter goes to – will have a pop-up centre at the school tomorrow.

That testing site is just for people at the school - not other people in the community, Ardern said.

That's on the Ministry of Health website - or you can see it below (scroll down).

Bloomfield asked anyone who was at the same place as the infected family members should self-isolate and talk to Healthline.

Bloomfield said it's important that everyone in NZ plays their part right now.

"Keep up the hard work," he said.

Air New Zealand last night said it had made a number of changes to its services as a result of the alert level changes.

Customers travelling to and from Auckland should check they are eligible to travel under the restrictions.

"Customers travelling from Alert Level 2 regions are able to transit through Auckland on their way to other Alert Level 2 regions.

"Food and beverage service onboard domestic flights had already been suspended in response to the latest community cases and this suspension will remain in place until further notice. Water is available on request on all flights.

"Air New Zealand's Auckland lounges and valet parking will close [from Monday]. Due to capacity restrictions under Alert Level 2, the maximum number of people able to access the airline's lounges in other regions is capped at 100.

"While the country is at elevated Alert Levels, Air New Zealand will be taking extra precautions to keep its staff and customers safe. Air New Zealand front line staff and cabin crew will be wearing masks and gloves and customers are required to continue to wear face coverings onboard.

"Customers with existing bookings between Monday February 15 and Sunday February 21 who wish to rebook to travel before Sunday March 7 will have any fare difference waived, and customers can call the contact centre to arrange this.

"In addition to this, customers who hold a ticket for a domestic flight scheduled to depart up until March 30, 2021, and no longer wish to travel are able to opt in for credit and can do this via the airline's online booking tool.

"Customers who are unable to manage their booking online do not need to contact Air New Zealand immediately or prior to their flight's departure – assistance will be provided at a later date to find an alternative flight option or a credit note can be arranged."