Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has today given an indication of what a move to COVID-19 Alert Level 3 will look like.

The government will not decide until Monday whether the country will move out of Alert Level 4 and, if so, when, but Ms Ardern said today’s announcement was about giving people the information they needed to plan in advance of any change in restrictions.

The key message was that, where Alert Level 4 had the primary aim of eliminating contact, Level 3 was about restricting contact. At Level 3 there was still a high possibility that infections rates could bounce back and get out of control so it was about restricting contact with one another as much as possible.

Like anyone recovering from an illness, it was still important to stay home.

People would be asked to maintain their bubbles, although these could be expanded slightly if, for example, a caregiver was required to enter a household.

“But keep it exclusive and keep it small,” she said.

Business-wise, the move is from essential services only to safe operations only.

“At Level 3 we cautiously start opening up our economy,” Ms Ardern said.

“You must work from home if you can.”

Public-facing businesses such as bars, restaurants, cafes, retail stores and malls remain closed but online shopping, click and collect services, drive-through takeaways and deliveries would be allowed to operate, subject to meeting health and safety obligations including physical distancing and strict hygiene measures.

“You cannot engage in face-to-face transactions.”

It would be possible for people, for tradespeople, for example electricians, to enter someone’s home to carry out work but they would need to keep their distance from customers. Businesses would also need to ensure they had means of accurately recording those they had been in contact with.

Wider healthcare providers, such as dentists and physiotherapists, would be allowed to operate under Level 3.

More details and resources would be released in coming days to assist businesses to operate safely, including an online self-accreditation scheme that would be revealed on Monday.

Level 3 would see a partial reopening of education. Schools would be open to students up to and including Year 10 (age 14) only, but attendance was voluntary and targeted mainly at the children of essential workers. Those who were able would be encouraged to stay home and be part of the distance learning programme put in place. Numbers attending schools were expected to be small and would be kept in their own school bubbles.

Travel restrictions would remain in place, including no travel between regions. There would be an easing of restrictions on leisure activities, but these would be limited to non-motorised pursuits so things like motorboats or jetskis would be out but swimming, surfing or fishing from shore would be permissible. However, Ms Ardern warned this would not be an opportunity to take up a new activity that you had never tried before, and the government would not hesitate to reverse the changes at any sign of congregations.

Ceremonies such as funerals, tangi or weddings would be limited to no more than 10 people.

Those aged over 70 would remain a priority focus for strict hygiene and physical distancing. While some people might want to try and include an older person in their extended bubble, good judgement would need to be exercised because as people returned to work, their contact with others outside their bubble increased, which, in turn, increased the risk of exposure to the virus and placed the vulnerable at even more risk, Ms Ardern said. The ideal was to keep contact with other people as limited as possible.

How long Level 3 restrictions were likely to remain in place would be revealed whenever the announcement was made that New Zealand would move to Level 3.

Ms Ardern stressed Level 3 would be a progression “not a rush to normality”.

“We have an opportunity to achieve something no other country has achieved – elimination of this virus…. A team of 5 million, looking after each other.”

More detailed information on Alert Level 3 can be found here