The Government will make a decision on whether to change from Alert Level 3 today with an announcement at 4pm by the Prime Minister. Until then, we remain at Alert Level 3. 

When the country moves to Alert Level 2, New Zealanders can leave their bubbles and reconnect with friends and family.

The Ministry of Health says the country will move to Alert Level 2 when it’s confident there is no community transmission and that the disease is contained.

“When we do, we’ll have measures in place to track and stop any new transmission and stamp out any outbreaks.”

BREACHES

#UPDATE: Canterbury police have released final numbers for Alert level 3 breaches over the weekend.

A spokeswoman says as at 7pm yesterday, there had been 95 breaches in Canterbury under the Health Act during Alert Level 3, with 57 prosecutions, 34 warnings and 4 youth referrals.

The police spokeswoman says there was also one prosecution under the CDEM Act. This can be compared to 6pm on Friday, when there had been 88 breaches, with 54 prosecutions, 30 warnings and 4 youth referrals, as well as the one prosecution under the DCEM Act.

SUNDAY’S COVID 19 CASES

Two new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Sunday according to the Ministry of Health.

One case is linked to the St Margaret’s Hospital & Rest Home in Auckland.

The individual is not a healthcare worker  – they are a household contact of an earlier case linked to St Margaret’s. They have been in self-isolation since that case was notified.

The second is a person who has travelled back from overseas, so is an imported case.  

That brings New Zealand’s combined total of confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases to 1,494.

This is made up of 1,144 confirmed cases, which is the number we report to the World Health Organization, and 350 probable cases.

The Ministry of Health says 371 people are reported as having recovered from COVID-19, an increase of 3 on yesterday. This is 92% of all confirmed and probable cases.

Two people remain in hospital with COVID-19 – one each in Middlemore and North Shore hospitals. Neither is in ICU.

“We still have 16 significant clusters, four of which are now closed. The number of cases linked to the Ruby Princess cruise ship increases by 1, due to the linking of an existing case.”

On Saturday, laboratories processed 7,287 tests, bringing the total number of tests completed to date to 190,326.

LEVEL 3

New Zealand remains at Alert Level 3.

The Ministry of Health says yesterday’s two cases are a remind that COVID-19 is a tricky virus and it will keep exploiting any opportunity to infiltrate our communities. 

“Please, continue to follow the rules for Alert Level 3 and play it safe. Slackening off now only gives COVID-19 unnecessary opportunities to re-establish itself in New Zealand.”

The Ministry of Health says “please, keep your distance from others when outside your bubble, particularly when you’re in recreational or leisure environments such as beaches or parks. Keep working and learning from home.”

BUSINESSES AND WORKPLACES

At Alert Level 2 businesses can operate “if they’re able to do so safely.”

Ministry of Health says at Alert Level 2 businesses can have customers on their premises if they can meet public health requirements. This means businesses should have good contact registers, or contact tracing records, in place to record everyone who you interact with on your premises, maintain physical distancing of 1 metre between groups of customers.

Services can also be provided on customers’ premises, for example, cleaning and home help. This means that most businesses can open their premises to the public, including: bars and cafes, hardware, gardening, and clothing retailers, butchers, bakeries, and fishmongers. Hospitality businesses should keep groups seated, separated, and use a single server if possible. This means each group has one server, though servers can each serve more than one table.