[ad_1]
There has been increasing pressure on the Government to change restrictions on funerals and tangi at Alert Level 2.
But the rules appear to have confused Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, who may have opened up a possible loophole when he indicated that 100-after meetings could be allowed.
Last week, when Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern set the meeting rules for Level 2 alert, she said weddings, religious events, funerals and tangi could be limited to 100 people.
But on Monday, following health advice, he backed off and announced they would be limited to 10 and would check again in two weeks.
On Tuesday, Peters said it was possible to have a later event and be within the law and also attend a funeral “outside the fence line.”
1 NEWS
Funerals, tangihanga and weddings can only have 10 people at alert level 2.
READ MORE:
* Coronavirus: Tougher border quarantine to prevent Covid-19 from entering New Zealand and announcing imminently
* Coronavirus: loved ones were left with funeral homes while tangi was on hold
* Six months after Eddie Peters was killed at Hastings, his whānau awaits justice
He insisted that he was not confused.
After a tangi or funeral, people could go to a salon or restaurant and sit with 100 people, but obeying the rules of estrangement, he said.
“Correctly distant, 10 at a table, served by one person in each case … that’s possible,” Peters said.
When asked how a salon was different from a Marae, he said in a Marae that circumstances were much tighter and that the distance rule would be impossible to follow.
When he was later asked to clarify his position, he said, “When you go to a funeral [inside] It’s 10 but if you’re outside the funeral gate and down the fence line, that’s a different matter. It is common sense.
“If after that, you decide to go to a restaurant [with] reservations of 10 and no more, up to 100 would be allowed. “
“Instead of going there socially, you go on a respectful trail to share with other families as long as you follow the rules.”
Kevin Stent / Things
Deputy Prime Minister Mnister Winston Peters said that after a tangi or funeral, people could go to a salon or restaurant to sit with 100 people but obey the rules of estrangement.
When asked if the different groups of 10 (all there for the same thing) were a loophole, he said he would not violate the rules.
“A funeral is a funeral. A stele is a cultural thing. ”
“Going to the funeral is not like going to the show afterward,” he said.
On Monday, Ardern made it clear that restaurants or bars could not accept group reservations for more than 10.
“The 10 is completely consistent. If you want to go out to a restaurant or bar, they cannot accept a group reservation of more than 10. You cannot reserve a complete restaurant for your entire party, it can only be 10 “.
When asked about Peters’ point of view on Tuesday, she said, “No, you heard me clearly. [rules] We hope this is only a very short period, but we ask New Zealanders to unfortunately stay with us in what is very difficult to do. “
She clarified again, the rules around group reservations were consistency.
“It would be totally unfair to have some sort of leeway when we ask a lot of those, particularly, who want to mourn in larger groups to give indulgence to any other group in that regard.”
When asked why he thought Peters was wrong, he replied that he was not there for his press conference.
“I don’t want to make assumptions about what he did or didn’t say about those guidelines.”
