Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield are speaking to media about the latest case numbers and Covid-19 response.
Watch it live here:
Dr Bloomfield says there are 49 new cases of Covid-19 today, all in Auckland.
Bloomfield yesterday welcomed the lower number of new cases – 53, down from 83 the previous day – but with lower testing numbers on Sunday cautioned against putting too much stock in it, saying it was just one data point.
Ardern also announced Auckland would remain in lockdown until at least 14 September, and Northland would likely move into level 3 just two days after the rest of the country’s Tuesday night change.
Today Ardern says alert level 3 for all of Aotearoa south of Auckland is progress but still requires “a high level of caution”.
“Bubbles stay in place,” she says.
She says it’s not until level 2 that you can contact those outside your bubble.
She also reiterated that Delta has meant changes to level 3.
Outward facing businesses must have employees wearing facemasks and everyone else is encouraged to wear masks while out and about, she says.
“Stay at home, keep bubbles small, exercise and shop locally, keep your distance from people … work from home if possible, keep young and old people at home.”
Ardern says public venues remain closed.
From tomorrow, all people aged 12 and older can book in for a vaccination.
To businesses, Ardern says operating must meet health measures.
Travel across the alert level 3 and 4 boundary is strictly limited, she says.
The boundary is there to “stop the spread of a particularly tricky and infectious virus”, she says.
She wants the declining case number to decline.
“We want the tail of this outbreak to be as short as possible.”
Ardern says the alert level for the South Island will be reassessed in a week’s time.
They do not want to make decisions that are “premature”, she says.
“We would not have moved to an alert level 3 environment if we did not think it was safe.”
The government was being overly cautious and using level 3 in a place where it might have once used level 2.
Bloomfield says we may never find out how the virus got into the community in the latest outbreak.
Ardern says she lies awake at night pondering the ways in which it may have happened.
“Now we’re left with theories without people-to-people contact,” she says.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health is facing continued criticismfrom vaccinees over its communications about a possible dosage error that may have meant some were getting saline instead of a Pfizer shot.
After people affected were told they would receive a letter, a couple vaccinated on the day in question received just one email between them which advised calling an 0800 number that did not answer their questions.
On Auckland’s flooding, Ardern says it has caused severe damage.
Fire and Emergency had attended to almost 370 emergency calls by 10.30am today.
There is a shelter for those who need it on Henderson Valley Road, Ardern says.
“We understand that the situation means that some bubbles are joining other families simply by necessity that they need shelter.”
Trust Arena and airport park and ride vaccination centres have now reopened, she says.
“Anyone impacted will be contacted … to rebook at a later date.”
