Industry leaders have welcomed the decision to move Auckland to alert level 2 and the rest of the country to level one on Sunday at 6am.
Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made the announcement yesterday, from the Beehive.
It came after a fifth consecutive day with no community cases, which means the Auckland February cluster remains at just 15 cases in total. By comparison, the Auckland August cluster had 170 cases.
It means for Auckland retailers and hospitality businesses under level two, they will be able to open their doors to the public, while still keeping limits on how many people are allowed in at one time, and the specific rules which apply to how customers are served.
'Buoyant' children ahead of return to school
For Auckland schools on Monday, all children will have to return. At level three, only children who could not be supervised at home were allowed to go in.
The president of the Auckland Primary Principals Association, and principal of Point Chevalier School, Stephen Lethbridge, said children were excited about heading back.
"I've heard from our staff children are pretty buoyant in terms of getting back to school.
"We'll keep an eye out on everyone and I'm sure that all of the schools in the region will be watching their tamariki really closely in the next couple of weeks, just to make sure they're all back on track, they're at school, they're learning, and things are going well for them."
He said schools have had a hard time yo-yo-ing between levels over the past two weeks, but that it's now something they're prepared for.
"Like most organisations, we hope for the best, but plan for the worst.
"I know in our place, we'll be going back and reviewing our remote learning provision, and making sure we're talking to our students and our parents about how that went, and then making tweaks and refinements that we need."
Businesses wanting continuity in alert levels
While contact tracing and social distancing measures are still required in Auckland, businesses will be eager to get their doors open to the paying public once again.
Chief executive of Retail NZ Greg Harford said the past couple of weeks have been particularly difficult.
But retailers round the rest of the country will be excited to have Auckland's border controls removed.
He said there had been a cooling effect for the past couple of weeks for the entire country, and expected it would take some time before it returns to levels from before the latest outbreak.
"Customers are still going to be cautious, Auckland's still at level two.
"I guess the point is, the more changes in alert levels that we see, the harder it is for any business to recover.
"The sector has been very resilient over the last year or so, but every time there's a lockdown, it's harder for businesses to come out the other side.
Chief executive of Retail NZ Greg Harford Photo: Supplied
Ardern said Cabinet would be re-considering alert levels next week, with the idea to then return Auckland to level one by the following weekend.
Harford said that would be appreciated by businesses, who now want some certainty about what to do.
"Continuity is really important for business, and it's really important everyone can plan and know what's coming up - particularly if you're perhaps a business that deals with food.
"There's a lot of wastage that goes with last-minute closures. It's really much better if we can keep businesses going, keep the economy moving forward, and stay at level one."
Customer-facing industries needing more support
The latest lockdown has brought about a fresh bout of financial assistance from the government.
Two further schemes have been created: the resurgence support payment (RSP) and the latest round of wage subsidy.
The Prime Minister yesterday said 32,625 applications had been made for the RSP totalling $88.4 million - of which more than $60 million has already been paid out.
Meanwhile, 10,000 applications were made for the wage subsidy in the first four hours.
But chief executive of the Restaurant Association, Marisa Bidois, said front-facing sectors would need more help.
"What is now imperative, we think, is the government looks to offer fair and quick financial support to those industries most hard-hit by the pandemic.
"The constant last-minute closures and restrictions on trading do make it really difficult for businesses to trade in hospitality."
