Heart of the City boss pleased at Auckland's return to Level 1

Auckland is joining the rest of the country at Alert Level 1 tomorrow night, two months after the coronavirus re-emerged in the community. There were 179 cases attached to the cluster, and three people have died, but if none is detected today there won't have been community transmission for 11 days and only five people are yet to recover. RNZ spoke to Aucklanders after the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the alert level change yesterday. Citing Treasury estimates, the Prime Minister said that under Alert Level 3, the hit to the economy was not as bad as some had feared, with economic activity at between 80 and 85 per cent, increasing to between 90 and 94 per cent under Level 2. But that won't be much comfort to those in sectors hardest hit by the Covid restrictions, such as events and hospitality. For Olivia Carter from Soul Bar and Bistro, the move to Level 1 couldn't come soon enough. Indira Stewart discussed the impact the restrictions have had on Auckland's businesses and where to from here is Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck. Heart of the City is the business association for Auckland's city centre