By Thursday we will be switching down to Covid Alert Level 2 lockdown, sort of, as per the rules published last week but with a few tweaks.
(11:59 pm Wednesday is virtually Thursday).
Shops, cafes, restaurants, playgrounds and other public places will be able to reopen on Thursday.
Monday 18 May all children will be able to go back to school.
Thursday 21 May bars will be able to open with proper safety measures – but with a welcome clarification, a single person can serve multiple tables but must do everything on each of those tables (take orders, server, clear up). Group bookings limited to 10.
If the primary purpose is for dining they can open this week, if the primary purpose is for drinking they can’t open until next week. Odd distinction.
Social gatherings at home limited to 10 people, also tangis, funerals and weddings, and also religious gatherings and church services – seems to be a new tweak.
Jacinda Ardern has just announced this along with another speech.
This will be reviewed in two weeks, with an indication gathering numbers may be tweaked some more but staying on level 2.
“A long road to full recovery”.
Masks won’t be required on public transport.
All going to plan things will keep opening up after two weeks, and another two weeks.
Alert Level 2 details (subject to the variations announced).
Ardern’s announcement (I’m not going to try to precise, a lot of waffle in it)
More details probably to come.
Your NZ 
Gezza
/ 11th May 2020Gatherings at home limited to 10 people – seems to be a new tweak.
Fark off! I’ve got way more family members of mine & ma’s than that champing at the bit to gather at her place to remember properly & get some closure, before I have to sell it to put an end to the management fees.
I don’t want people having to travel inter-province in bloody Winter either.
You can kiss goodbye to a Labour Party vote.
Doofus O’connor’s not worth one for the candidate vote.
Pete George
/ 11th May 2020Public business breaches will result in closure.
I don’t know how they would deal with eleven Gezzarians in a private home. Probaly a warning first time round – quickly print the Level 2 rules and wave them around:
So keep the numbers “low”.
Gezza
/ 11th May 2020Wait a minute. Might be ok – this is both a tangi/funeral & a family event.
Pete George
/ 11th May 2020They have updated the website. Here’s the new rules:
https://covid19.govt.nz/alert-system/alert-level-2/#gatherings-events-and-public-venues
NOEL
/ 11th May 2020She did specifically mention families with more than 10.
Gezza
/ 11th May 2020Stuff.co currently reporting:
While gatherings would be allowed they would be limited to ten people, Ardern said – even for weddings or funerals.
Looks like a clusterfuck at the moment.
NOEL
/ 11th May 2020If you have a family of 10 or more… something like that.
Gezza
/ 11th May 2020The reason she limited it to 10, she gormlessly just said on 1new at 6, is simply because they are bloody incapable of contact tracing more than 10!!
Kitty Catkin
/ 11th May 2020You cannot be serious.
Did she say why the bars are not to open for another week ? I don’t think that the owners will be voting for our Dear Leader. There’s no sense in it.
Gezza
/ 11th May 2020Haven’t heard any reason given on 1news, but I ain’t watched her whole performance yet. At first blush it looks to me like a bunch of bureaucrats with control have convinced her they should be allowed to have a whole heap of arbitrary rules & to let them fiddle about inventing more.
Why allow church gatherings to be larger than funerals? I suspect we’ll find a lot of contradictions.
Kitty Catkin
/ 11th May 2020They won’t. Which church has 10 members ? It won’t be worth bothering.
As we have to look to see what is on offer at a cafe, why on earth can’t we make the order at it ?
Kitty Catkin
/ 11th May 2020I am tired of hearing about the ‘sacrifice’ we’ve made. We had no option. It was a sacrifice forced on us, and surely a sacrifice is voluntary.
duperez
/ 11th May 2020And as you’ve told us Kitty, all that sacrifice and there wasn’t even an epidemic! 😂
Gezza
/ 12th May 2020@Kitty
I started to watch/listen to her 48 minute performance at NOEL’s link above stretched out on the sofa but promptly went off to sleep as soon as she started answering questions! (I’ve been working all hours for a month catching up on projects & attending to ma – & her affairs since she passed.)
Re bars – she DID cover that in her speech. Sounds like they want to invent more rules; bars are picked on because in South Korea, after they relaxed their lockdown, one bar was traced as being responsible for dozens of subsequent infections in the 2nd wave that followed before they reimposed stricter requirements.
Kitty Catkin
/ 12th May 2020That is South Korea, this is here, we haven’t had a second wave and probably won’t.
Dupe, can you really call a virus that has affected 1440 people (not all at the same time) out of almost 5,000,000 an epidemic ? 90 have it at the moment. Flu and SARS are epidemics.
We haven’t made a sacrifice, we’ve been sacrificed.
Alan Wilkinson
/ 12th May 2020https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/11/coronavirus-no-longer-epidemic-uk-oxford-study-finds-cases-falling/
Gezza
/ 12th May 2020Ok, I’ve watched the whole of Jacinda’s show posted above now.
Did a good, authoritative job of answering questions, in combination with Ashley Bloomfield ; they have this double act down well pat now.
I think they already probably already pretty much know what additional rules bars whose primary function is selling booze not food will be required to meet before they can open.
My hunch is that the Level 2 relaxation is being done piecemeal & stretched out as a political strategy, with a hope of electoral advantage for Jacinda & Labour as long as polls indicate public support is high.
She said Health advisers/ Bloomfield recommended against opening pubs just yet, even if their primary function was to sell food. But Cabinet overruled them. I imagine NZF had a strong part to play in that.
Alan Wilkinson
/ 11th May 2020Hire a restaurant for the evening, G.
Gezza
/ 11th May 2020Nope. Gotta be 11 am on a Saturday and at her place where it feels like she’s still there; I haven’t moved any of her things n treasures. Also, gonna be four there in their 90’s, they need looking after & getting home early.
Griff.
/ 11th May 2020Also, gonna be four there in their 90’s,
FFS wear masks to protect the aged from your potential manky germs .
Ya dont want to be responsible for killing off the oldies do ya gazza .
Gezza
/ 11th May 2020Don’t be daft Groff. There’ll be hand sanitiser everywhere & people will be washing their hands like nobody’s business. Everybody there is going to want to take maximum loving care of these very special oldies.
If we have to wait much bloody longer to hold this gathering there may not be four of them left! They’re ma’s peers & her BFF, who’s 96 & wants to join her.
Pete George
/ 11th May 2020But they have that covered – a limit of 10 for a group booking.
I don’t know what they would do if several groups of ten happened to book at the same venue on the same night.
Kitty Catkin
/ 11th May 2020Do you mean if three tens from the same lot of people just happened to all book at the same time ?
We were told that it was to be 100, down from 500. 10 is absurdly small.
But the PM has seen reason or been persuaded that keeping us locked in for 90 cases would NOT be popular and not a vote-catcher.
Pete George
/ 11th May 2020No no no, I don’t want to suggest anything like that. I will leave it to everyone to make their own interpretations.
Gezza
/ 11th May 2020Q+A *might* be worth watching tonite.
Jack “Keeyowra” Tame just said it will feature reaction to Jacinda’s level 2 announcement this afternoon.
Kitty Catkin
/ 11th May 2020The ones they spoke to on 3 were all longing for it and heartily sick ot lock down.
Kitty Catkin
/ 11th May 2020One elderly man was tired of our being told every day to wash our hands.
I can’t see the logic of Pak & Save and New World not letting bags in. We can take handbags in; why not other bags ? One man wasn’t let to take a box in. The staff member I asked had some garbled reason about the virus, but if someone had the virus, leaving the bag outside won’t stop them spreading it.
Corky
/ 11th May 2020I have an appointment with my Chiropractor on Friday. My mind boggles at how that’s going to work.🤔
duperez
/ 11th May 2020Something like this thing which was on here the other day might be sent out so the Chiropractor doesn’t have to get too close! 😷
Corky
/ 11th May 2020😀
NOEL
/ 12th May 2020It cannot patrol alone. Has to have human. Wonder if that is so it can be picked back up when some kicks it over?