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A police officer talks to a traveler at a checkpoint on the Auckland border. Checkpoints will drop before the alert level change on Sunday at 6am.
There are no new cases of Covid-19 in the community, announced the Ministry of Health.
The update, on Saturday afternoon, anticipated the country moving alert levels to 6 a.m. Sunday.
There are also nine new cases of the virus in controlled isolation, the ministry said.
They all arrived in the country on March 4 and tested positive on day zero.
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Eight came from India via the United Arab Emirates, while one came from the United States via Qatar.
Early Saturday, Deputy Health Minister Peeni Henare told Newshub Nation that so far, it was “all good news.”
KITCHEN / ROBERT THINGS
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that Auckland will lower a Covid-19 alert level on Sunday at 6am, while the rest of New Zealand will return to level 1.
The government is looking forward to the change in alert level, he said.
“I am confident in talking to health officials and my colleagues, we have gained considerable confidence that we have managed to contain this particular group.”
Auckland will go to alert level 2 and the rest of the country to alert level 1 on Sunday.
It follows a week-long supercity lockdown after a new case of the virus was announced in Papatoetoe, south of Auckland, on Saturday night.
The case, referred to as Case M, is linked to a larger group from South Auckland that was first announced on Valentine’s Day.
The 21-year-old had visited several well-populated locations, including a gym, a supermarket and a Manukau Institute of Technology campus, raising fears of widespread community transmission.
Saturday marked the sixth day in a row with no community cases, despite officials previously warning that new positive cases are likely to emerge from Wednesday.
On Friday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said a week with Auckland at alert level 3 had provided authorities with an “additional layer of security as we address the unknowns.”
Abigail Dougherty / Stuff
Case M attended the Manukau Institute of Technology for several days while he was infectious.
The decision to lower alert levels was made on the basis that there were no new cases, “excellent” test numbers and close contacts of the group were being administered, he said.
At level 2, the checkpoints at the borders of the Auckland region will be lowered and people will be able to freely travel in and out of the region again.
Aucklandites are free to go back to work and school, eat at restaurants, and get out of their bubbles.
In announcing the move down the alert levels, Ardern reminded people that there can be no more than 100 people at level 2 social events, including Sunday church services.
