It is an unprecedented day in New Zealand's history as the country goes into full lockdown on Wednesday at 11.59pm.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told Checkpoint stronger measures are in place at New Zealand's border to quarantine any more people returning home from overseas.
“By approved facilities we essentially mean a quarantine, so they’ll be going into hotels or for instance the facility we used at Whangaparāoa. They'll be there for 14 days. So that's anyone who's symptomatic, anyone who doesn't have a self-isolation plan or the ability to get to self isolation without coming in contact with others.
“We are also putting additional expectations on those who say they have all those plans in place and can get there without contacting or contact with others. Our expectation is police will follow up on those individuals. If they are not in self isolation, they will be being quarantined and fined.
“We have as many as, this is an estimate, as 10,000 [isolation places available] through to roughly the end of the month, but I'd say that it could be on the high side.
“We have several thousand places so sufficient to meet our needs for those coming through the border.
“The bonus of using hotels is the ability for us to have food provision within those facilities, and even for those who do have an adequate self isolation plan, then of course we will be inspecting, checking in on those individuals and if they don't then they go also into quarantine.”
Ardern said they have not looked at accommodating medical staff in hotels while they are working through the lockdown, but officials were making sure they have all the protective gear required for their jobs.
New Zealand is now under a State of Emergency. Ardern said that means certain powers go to the Civil Defence controller Sarah Stuart-Black, including road management and the supply of certain provisions.
“We don’t expect we’re going to have to go through things like the rationing of resources because we are keeping those essential supply chains open.
“I of course maintain my role in the day-to-day overseeing what's happening across the country, making sure that we've got all of the legislative changes we might need in place.
“We did a bit of that today with things like rent freezes and evictions, and making sure we’ve got everything happening within our health system.”
Ardern said on Wednesday that New Zealanders should expect numbers of Covid-19 cases to get worse before they get better, but we should not be discouraged.
“There’s a lag time to the virus, from the time someone has contact with it to the time they’re symptomatic to the time they might be tested and shown to be positive.
“So the numbers will go up. The modelling suggests that we may have several thousand cases and that could be within a within a 10 to 12 day period.
“I don't expect us to see numbers come away until after that, so don't be discouraged, numbers will continue to climb. But if we all follow the rules, we should still then see a difference being made.
Ardern said the government is also in talks with broadcasters about the idea of a dedicated free-to-air TV channel for children’s education during the lockdown.
“We are acutely aware not everyone will have access to online learning, and we don't want that to be a barrier.
“So we have in conversations with broadcasters at the moment… whether or not we can work together on a solution.
“That’s an option and I think it's a very positive one, [it will] help to give a bit of structure to kids’ day and to support parents, and again help us to get over the digital divide.”
She said police will be prominent on the streets during the lockdown, and possibly the military.
“We’re leaving it between the police and the Defence Force as to how they wish to work together more broadly on just enforcement and supporting New Zealanders through this period.”
