Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has outlined why the rest of New Zealand will stay in Alert Level 2.

In today’s press conference she said “ the rest of New Zealand needs to continue to support Auckland to do the heavy lifting for the rest of us.”

“This means we will be staying at Alert Level 2.“

“The cases we have seen in the Waikato, and the driver who has visited Palmerston North are a very clear indication of the need for us to maintain that stance.”

“I know it is frustrating for communities that have not had a COVID case for a very long time. But it is important to remember that the reason there have not been cases is the careful and cautious approach we have taken.”

“As we have throughout the pandemic we have re-assessed the settings at level two to see if there are any further ways to ease those settings, and maintain a cautious approach, as we believe there is.”

“Currently, we ask hospitality to be seated and separated with 1 metre, between customers. We then overlay a cap on the top. The view of our public health officials is that for the rest of New Zealand, we can remove this cap for hospitality. The seated and separated rule will provide the safety we need.”

“This will also apply to other events spaces, and we’ll issue guidance on this. Because social gatherings do not use the seated and separated rule, the limit of 100 will continue to apply for these.”