Paul Taylor
13 September 2021, 4:14 AM
Auckland will remain in lockdown until midnight next Tuesday, when it might move to Alert Level 3.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said this afternoon Cabinet will meet again next Monday "to confirm these indicative sessions".
The rest of New Zealand will remain at Alert Level 2 also for another week, until Tuesday, 21 September, the PM announced.
"I know that for many the risk to the rest of the country may feel low," Ardern said.
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"While it's true that there's nothing to indicate that there's Covid anywhere outside of Auckland, there is still reason to be cautious.
"If Covid were to travel over the Auckland border, the impact of that happening in a level one environment would be far greater than if a case emerged in a level two environment.
"It would mean far greater chance of spread if it were level one, and a far greater chance of a return to lockdowns.
"Nobody wants that."
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There were 33 new community cases today, all in Auckland, bringing the total in this Delta outbreak to 955.
Ardern also commented on people who have broken through the strict boundary around the locked-down super city.
"Unfortunately we've seen recent days an example of, despite the checks we have in place, people using some of the reasons for movement to get through," Ardern said.
"Again that just gives you a bit of sense of why we are taking that cautious approach."
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They include an Auckland-based couple travelled to their Wānaka holiday home over the weekend, after using essential travel permits to get to Hamilton.
Asked about the couple specifically, Ardern said: "I don't have much more to say on that, obviously it's sitting with the police and we'll allow them to do their job.
"My general comment would simply be that everyone needs to play their part. The rules are not there to be gamed. Aucklanders would take a very dim view of other Aucklanders who are not doing their bit, because they have, for a long time and very diligently."
Queenstown Lakes Mayor Jim Boult has publicly denounced the actions of the couple.
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"It’s astounding that this couple has felt they had the right to put each and every one in our district’s communities at risk during a global pandemic so they could partake in skiing," Boult says.
"Everyone has been working hard, many to the detriment of their financial and mental wellbeing, to do their bit to help stamp out COVID-19 and this highly infectious Delta strain.
"It’s simply not acceptable that a handful of people continue to flout the restrictions and think they do not apply to them. I ask those few to think of the risk they are placing on others and the risk they place on New Zealand being able to return to some sort of normality soon."
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The couple, a 35-year-old man who is reportedly the son of a high-ranking official, and his 26-year-old partner, have flown back to Auckland.
Police are considering charges under the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020, which could see them fined or imprisoned if convicted.
The couple are understood to have been tested for Covid-19, but the results have not been made public.
Boult said: "I know many in our district, and particularly around Wānaka, will be concerned at the risk this couple may have introduced to the community.
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"Although I am not at liberty to go into detail, after discussion with central government health officials, I am able to say that I have no ongoing concerns for the health of folk in our district. I take comfort in that reassurance and hope that the people of Wānaka can too.
"Please remember to do your bit and follow the rules for whatever restriction level we are in nationally and locally, and help the effort to stamp out COVID-19 in Aotearoa New Zealand.".
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