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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that extending the settings provided greater confidence that the virus was contained, noting that this group has been extended particularly through social gatherings. Having only been at the 2.5 level for a few days, the impact of that move down is still largely unknown.
On September 14, the Cabinet will review the configuration again and, if a change is agreed, it will take effect on September 16.
Before the announcement, several public health experts, including Professor Michael Baker, said we had to stay the course.
“We really can’t go down a level yet because we are still seeing cases right now, things that happened 10 days ago because we are always looking back. We need at least another week at this 2.5 level in Auckland,” he said. The AM Show on Friday.
But those in the hospitality sector, affected by the limits of mass gatherings and the need to follow the three ‘S’ rules, say it will be a challenge.
“It is encouraging to know that we are not raising alert levels, that is a sense of relief, but in our industry working at Level 2-2.5 is still quite prohibitive. Continuing to adhere to the three S’s – seated service, social distancing and single servers – means that many businesses continue to lose money, “says Hospitality New Zealand CEO Julie White.
