Covid 19 coronavirus: Auckland residents react by going to appropriate alert level 2

By RNZ

Today’s decision on alert levels has made Auckland residents happy and some hope the rules will be further relaxed.

It has been three weeks since Auckland moved to what has been called alert level 2.5, while the rest of the country has been to level 2, but today the Prime Minister announced that the region would move to level 2 at 11:59 pm on Wednesday.

“As you can see, our actions collectively have managed to get the virus under control with no new cases in the country today. In no new case, over seven days tied to the Auckland cluster, are we in a strong position to make our next downgrade to our setup of alert, “Jacinda Ardern said at a conference this afternoon.

Hana Webb, who is from the United States on a business holiday, said New Zealand had handled the pandemic flawlessly.

“I am very happy that we are going from level 2.5 to level 2. Hopefully [we’ll] I’ll be back to level 1 soon. “

Samantha Conley said moving to level 2 was a good move, as long as people follow the rules.

“Hopefully everyone doesn’t relax again and everyone maintains social distancing and all the advice that is being given to everyone and hopefully we can get back to level 1 as soon as we can.”

Sandwich shop worker Julita Patel hoped people would be cautious while using their freedom.

“When they get together, they need to keep their distance and we are the crowd, as if it is very important to them and to us as well.”

Ricardo Dominiko couldn’t wait for the restrictions to relax even more.

“To be honest, I can’t wait for it to get to level 1 because my cousin’s wedding is coming up, my family’s 21st is coming up and I really hope the level goes down.”

Some business owners agree. They said they are disappointed that the city has not moved to an even lower level. Takapuna Beach Business Association Executive Director Terence Harpur said the hotel and lodging businesses were suffering.

“Obviously, we would like to go down to the lowest levels as quickly as possible. The hotel operators are probably the most disappointed with this,” he said.

“They still have pretty big restrictions on how many tables people can sit at in their establishments. It also sets expectations that people will stay home more and that also causes problems with fewer people going out to dinner and going to drink and catch up with friends. “

However, Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said that while he understood that people wanted more freedom, the government had to be cautious as many countries experience severe resurgence of the virus.

He urged people to get tested if they have symptoms, stay home if they are sick, wear a mask on public transportation and use the Covid tracking app.

“The Covid story spread around the world is that it can come back even with the best precautions, so we have to keep doing the right thing. That’s the way we can get back to level 1 as quickly as possible. That’s the way that we can continue to stay safe. “

There is now a push for the rest of New Zealand to visit the city as it comes out of the lockdown.

The executive director of the council’s Tourism, Events and Economic Development agency, Nick Hill, said the easing of meeting restrictions meant that many activities could be carried out.

“Particularly around events and people coming together: 100 is a much more significant economic number to do a lot of things. Ten is a very small number.

Public health expert Nick Wilson said Auckland was ready for level 2, but it was a shame the best use of masks was not addressed on the move.

“Not just public transport, but also things like senior care facilities, healthcare settings and, in particular, school buses. I mean, in the Auckland outbreak, a third of the people were under the age of 20. “.

The cabinet will meet again on October 5 to discuss whether the supercity can join the rest of the country at level 1.

– RNZ