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stuff.co.nz
Auckland plunged into new lockdown as fears of community Covid-19 transmission rise
Tracy Watkins07:47, Feb 28 2021FacebookTwitterWhats AppRedditEmail
6-8 minutes
Ministry of Health
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern sends Auckland back into lockdown level three.
Auckland has been plunged back into a week-long level 3 lockdown, after two fresh community cases of Covid-19 were discovered.
Level 3 restrictions in Auckland took effect at 6am on Sunday. At the same time, the rest of the country moved into alert level 2. The restrictions will be in place for seven days.
One of the new cases, known as case M, visited multiple different locations while infectious. Confirming what had happened at a press conference on Saturday night, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned that people refusing to play by the rules had put the whole country at risk.
Ross Giblin
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is urging Kiwis to follow the rules to keep Covid-19 out of the community.
“People who should have been in isolation weren’t and that has created multiple high risk situations,” Ardern said.
Ardern flew back to Wellington from Auckland after the cases were confirmed yesterday and the decision to go back into lockdown followed an emergency cabinet meeting.
READ MORE:
* Covid-19: Auckland back to alert level 3 for seven days, rest of NZ in level two
* Covid-19: All the locations of interest linked to Auckland's new mystery community case
* Covid-19: One new community case linked to existing cluster
It comes just weeks after Auckland came out of lockdown following the Valentine’s Day outbreak.
Case M is an older sibling of a Papatoetoe High School student who was a casual plus contact. The mother of case M had also tested positive. She has been designated Case N.
Abigail Dougherty/Stuff
Auckland’s Papatoetoe High School. Students were being retested there earlier this month, after earlier community cases of Covid-19 were found.
The Ministry of Health had earlier issued a press release stating the student had tested negative on three occasions and was asymptomatic.
Genome sequencing was under way on Saturday night, trying to find how – and if – the case is linked.
If a link can't be found, however, this will be something "we need to act on", the Prime Minister said.
The lack of a clear epidemiological link was one of the drivers behind the decision to go back into lockdown, even though it seems likely to be the school community.
Ministry of Health
Grant Robertson announces wage subsidy plan for Auckland businesses.
But there were also concerns about the fact the person had been symptomatic since Tuesday, yet had been out and about in Auckland, meaning there is a good chance of infection elsewhere.
The person visited the GP in the afternoon on Friday, and went to the gym after having their Covid-19 test.
The Papatoetoe City Fitness gym yesterday announced it had temporarily closed and urged members to self-isolate and get tested.
Ardern said it was “frustrating” and pleaded with people to stay the course as vaccines began to be rolled out.
As well as the failure to isolate, there had been a number of cases now where scanning hasn't taken place with the tracer app. "In its totality that has created multiple points of risk," Ardern said.
Ross Giblin/Stuff
Jacinda Ardern and Ashley Bloomfield call a late night press conference to announce Auckland will go to Alert level 3 and the rest of the country level 2.
The snap lockdown announcement came as a major boxing bout was under way at Spark Arena, where as many as 8000 people were attending.
People at the bout reported the crowd booing when the lockdown announcement was made.
Ardern ruled out authorities stepping in to call off the bout, despite the risk, however.
Other major sporting events have been thrown into doubt or cancelled, including Round the Bays, usually attended by tens of thousands, and next week's cricket clash with Australia.
America’s Cup racing could also be affected.
Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.
Boxers Joseph Parker and Junior Fa were fighting when the lockdown announcement was made. The event was allowed to finish, however.
Ardern confirmed a border was being set up around Auckland again.
The rules and location of the border will be the same as earlier this month.
The need to go back into lockdown will spark questions about the Government’s earlier decision to lower alert levels for Auckland following the Valentine’s Day cluster and whether that was too soon.
But Ardern said there was nothing to suggest that anything has been lost by not being at level 3 the whole time.
"Actually, the high risk individuals we had already required to stay in isolation," she says.
But people had failed to follow the rules.
GERADEN CANN/Stuff
Auckland's Pride Party was shut down immediately on Saturday night when it was announced the city would be returning to level 3 lockdown.
"We cannot exist in an environment where we set rules and they [are] breached consistently.”
That would leave the country unable to contain Covid-19, she said.
Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson confirmed the level 3 and level 2 restrictions mean the wage subsidy scheme takes effect.
It will be paid out in a 14-day lump sum.
It will apply for all of New Zealand, not just Auckland.
Auckland plunged into new lockdown as fears of community Covid-19 transmission rise
Tracy Watkins07:47, Feb 28 2021FacebookTwitterWhats AppRedditEmail
6-8 minutes
Ministry of Health
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern sends Auckland back into lockdown level three.
Auckland has been plunged back into a week-long level 3 lockdown, after two fresh community cases of Covid-19 were discovered.
Level 3 restrictions in Auckland took effect at 6am on Sunday. At the same time, the rest of the country moved into alert level 2. The restrictions will be in place for seven days.
One of the new cases, known as case M, visited multiple different locations while infectious. Confirming what had happened at a press conference on Saturday night, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned that people refusing to play by the rules had put the whole country at risk.
Ross Giblin
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is urging Kiwis to follow the rules to keep Covid-19 out of the community.
“People who should have been in isolation weren’t and that has created multiple high risk situations,” Ardern said.
Ardern flew back to Wellington from Auckland after the cases were confirmed yesterday and the decision to go back into lockdown followed an emergency cabinet meeting.
READ MORE:
* Covid-19: Auckland back to alert level 3 for seven days, rest of NZ in level two
* Covid-19: All the locations of interest linked to Auckland's new mystery community case
* Covid-19: One new community case linked to existing cluster
It comes just weeks after Auckland came out of lockdown following the Valentine’s Day outbreak.
Case M is an older sibling of a Papatoetoe High School student who was a casual plus contact. The mother of case M had also tested positive. She has been designated Case N.
Abigail Dougherty/Stuff
Auckland’s Papatoetoe High School. Students were being retested there earlier this month, after earlier community cases of Covid-19 were found.
The Ministry of Health had earlier issued a press release stating the student had tested negative on three occasions and was asymptomatic.
Genome sequencing was under way on Saturday night, trying to find how – and if – the case is linked.
If a link can't be found, however, this will be something "we need to act on", the Prime Minister said.
The lack of a clear epidemiological link was one of the drivers behind the decision to go back into lockdown, even though it seems likely to be the school community.
Ministry of Health
Grant Robertson announces wage subsidy plan for Auckland businesses.
But there were also concerns about the fact the person had been symptomatic since Tuesday, yet had been out and about in Auckland, meaning there is a good chance of infection elsewhere.
The person visited the GP in the afternoon on Friday, and went to the gym after having their Covid-19 test.
The Papatoetoe City Fitness gym yesterday announced it had temporarily closed and urged members to self-isolate and get tested.
Ardern said it was “frustrating” and pleaded with people to stay the course as vaccines began to be rolled out.
As well as the failure to isolate, there had been a number of cases now where scanning hasn't taken place with the tracer app. "In its totality that has created multiple points of risk," Ardern said.
Ross Giblin/Stuff
Jacinda Ardern and Ashley Bloomfield call a late night press conference to announce Auckland will go to Alert level 3 and the rest of the country level 2.
The snap lockdown announcement came as a major boxing bout was under way at Spark Arena, where as many as 8000 people were attending.
People at the bout reported the crowd booing when the lockdown announcement was made.
Ardern ruled out authorities stepping in to call off the bout, despite the risk, however.
Other major sporting events have been thrown into doubt or cancelled, including Round the Bays, usually attended by tens of thousands, and next week's cricket clash with Australia.
America’s Cup racing could also be affected.
Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.
Boxers Joseph Parker and Junior Fa were fighting when the lockdown announcement was made. The event was allowed to finish, however.
Ardern confirmed a border was being set up around Auckland again.
The rules and location of the border will be the same as earlier this month.
The need to go back into lockdown will spark questions about the Government’s earlier decision to lower alert levels for Auckland following the Valentine’s Day cluster and whether that was too soon.
But Ardern said there was nothing to suggest that anything has been lost by not being at level 3 the whole time.
"Actually, the high risk individuals we had already required to stay in isolation," she says.
But people had failed to follow the rules.
GERADEN CANN/Stuff
Auckland's Pride Party was shut down immediately on Saturday night when it was announced the city would be returning to level 3 lockdown.
"We cannot exist in an environment where we set rules and they [are] breached consistently.”
That would leave the country unable to contain Covid-19, she said.
Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson confirmed the level 3 and level 2 restrictions mean the wage subsidy scheme takes effect.
It will be paid out in a 14-day lump sum.
It will apply for all of New Zealand, not just Auckland.
