Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is urging people to stay home, after Auckland was put in a level 3 lockdown and the rest of New Zealand placed at alert level 2.
Central Auckland streets were dead quiet this morning, the first day of the latest level 3 lockdown. Photo: RNZ / Robert Smith
"Covid kills people. We must never lose sight of the reasons we take these measures - it is to save our people's lives and our livelihoods," Ardern said this afternoon.
Ardern and Director-General Dr Ashley Bloomfield announced at today's media conference there were no new community cases, but just hours later Ministry of Health reported one new community case.
The person is being referred to as Case O and is a household contact of Cases I, J, K and L.
They have been in the Auckland quarantine facility since 23 February as a precautionary measure and became symptomatic yesterday, returning a postive result this afternoon.
Checks were being carried out to make sure people who had been asked to self-isolate were staying home, Ardern said.
Police will get involved if people breach the rules of self-isolating.
"Recent cases have gone to work when they shouldn't have," Ardern said. Anyone with symptoms should get tested immediately, she said.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says recent cases have not stayed home when they should have. Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas
This afternoon, Bloomfield said he was confident alert level 3 was appropriate, as long as people followed the rules and had as little social contact as possible.
Auckland moved back to alert level 3 this morning, while the rest of the country moved to alert level 2, following two new Covid-19 community cases announced at a briefing at 9pm last night.
Genome sequencing so far suggests all the latest community cases of Covid-19 are linked, which indicates a single source of infection.
Bloomfield said Auckland Public Health officials were still trying to track down that single source of infection.
The latest community cases
The latest cluster is linked to Papatoetoe High School. Photo: RNZ / Kate Gregan
The case reported this evening is the fifth member of a six-person household to test positive. The first - a student at Papatoetoe High School - tested positive early on 23 February, followed by two siblings later in the day. The family was moved to quarantine the same day, with another member testing positive on 26 February.
The person who tested today would have been infectious while in quarantine, so there are no locations of interest associated with them, the ministry said.
One of the new community cases announced yesterday is the 21-year-old sibling of a another student from Papatoetoe High School. The student had showed no symptoms and tested negative three times.
The siblings' mother has also tested positive.
The 21-year-old is a student at Manukau Institute of Technology, and works part-time for Kerry Logistics (Oceania) Limited at Auckland Airport. This person was potentially infectious before testing positive and had not been self-isolating.
All members of the household of five are now isolating.
Papatoetoe High School had to close when the first student of the recent cases tested positive on 14 February.
Locations of interest
Pak n Save Manukau is one of the locations of interest. Photo: Google Maps
People who were at these locations of interest should isolate for 14 days and if symptoms develop, get tested.
- City Fitness in Hunter Plaza - members have been advised by email directly from the gym of the time and day of interest
- Hunter Plaza (26 February) 2.55pm - 5pm
- Burger King Highland Park (25 February) 8pm-9pm
- Your Health Pharmacy (23 February) 2.45pm - 3.50pm
- Pak n Save Manukau (21 February) 5.30pm - 6.40pm
Additional locations will be added to the Auckland Regional Public Health website.
Additional community testing centres are available in Auckland this weekend, with extended hours. These are in Ōtara, Botany, Pakuranga Heights, Balmoral, Henderson and Northcote.
The ministry is urging people to only call Healthline if they were potentially exposed.
Goff calls for enforcement of Covid-19 rules
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff wants tougher measures against people ignoring Covid-19 health guidelines.
He said it was frustrating one of the two community cases confirmed yesterday was not isolating while symptomatic.
He said police should enforce wearing masks on public transport.
"If we think that somehow we're immune or not covered by the rules and we go out and we flout them, that's when we get the spread and you know we've all got the example of Melbourne, just across the ditch from us and the huge impact and deaths and in economic and in personal disruption that caused."
Authorities should consider the mandatory use of masks inside public places, such as supermarkets at Alert Level 3, he said.
Queues at Auckland borders
Drivers waited for up to six hours at some of the eight checkpoints at Auckland's borders today.
The queue at Auckland's southern border was about 60 cars long. Photo: RNZ / Jordan Bond
Police stopped vehicles and questioned drivers, ensuring there was no non-essential movement through the region.
An Auckland teacher stuck in the traffic, Judi Delbridge, said she was a few kilometres away from the borrder, but they were hardly moving.
Delbridge said many people had run out of water while waiting.
The majority of those leaving Auckland have told police they are going home.
Last night, Ardern said people who lived in Auckland but were currently away could return, and anyone in Auckland who did not live there could leave.
People are allowed to travel through the region, and those who live just outside Auckland but need to enter for legitimate reasons will also get through the border checkpoints.
Under alert level 3, Aucklanders can travel within their local area for essential work, groceries, and to exercise, but schools and public spaces are closed.
Schools are open for children whose caregivers or parents are essential workers.
The rest of the country is now at alert level 2.
This is an official government Covid-19 announcement.
From 28 February, the Auckland region moves to Covid-19 Alert Level 3. The rest of New Zealand moves to Alert Level 2. This is for a period of seven days. Further community cases of Covid-19 have been identified in the Auckland Region. If you are in Auckland, stay home where possible, and follow Alert Level 3 guidelines. This will stop the transmission of Covid-19 and save lives. For more information on the alert levels go to [ https://covid19.govt.nz/ covid19.govt.nz].
- If you have symptoms of the coronavirus, call the NZ Covid-19 Healthline on 0800 358 5453 (+64 9 358 5453 for international SIMs) or call your GP - don't show up at a medical centre.
