There were no new cases of Covid-19 and 94% of existing cases have recovered. PM Jacinda Ardern says the strict rules for funerals under alert level 2 are being looked at and an announcement is expected this afternoon.
The Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira will reopen on May 25 but alert level 2 guidelines mean visits will be a little different.
Chief executive Dr David Gaimster said staff were looking forward to welcoming back visitors to the museum, however there will be some new rules in place to adhere to the level 2 restrictions.
"As a result, visiting the museum will be a slightly different experience as we work to keep visitors safe as they explore our taonga and galleries."
Visitors will again be able to explore the museum's galleries and experience its new exhibition Wildlife Photographer of the Year from the Natural History Museum in London, which has been extended for a limited time.
But the way visits are conducted will be a little different.
Measures such as contactless, controlled entry limiting the number of people inside the museum at one time, and one-way traffic flows through the building will be implemented.
A digital entry system will provide contact tracing as required by the Government.
Strict hygiene precautions and physical distancing of at least 2 metres between visitors not known to each other will be monitored and applied.
"Our visitors, staff, volunteers and communities can be confident that their health and wellbeing remains our key priority," Gaimster said.
"As a result, and as they would expect, there will be some changes to what the public experience on their immediate return."
Together with the Kai Room, the popular Weird and Wonderful and Volcanoes galleries will not open at level 2 due to the high touch interactive nature of those spaces.
"This is a temporary safety measure and the museum hopes to return to regular operations as soon as possible."
All school visits, public programmes and onsite events will continue to be suspended until further notice.
"We are confident these new measures will ensure the museum is a safe place to visit," Gaimster said.
During the level 4 and 3 lockdown, the museum continued to operate behind the scenes with staff caring for collections and taonga, research, digital and online initiatives, preparing exhibitions and developing public programmes, planning and conservation.
Auckland Museum at Home webpage will continually be updated with new videos, articles and activities.
The online hub is filled with stories, activities, videos and puzzles for the whole family to enjoy for free.
Meanwhile the Waikato Museum in Hamilton will reopen tomorrow, but the museum's controversial National Contemporary Art Award, once won by a pile of rubbish, has been suspended until 2021 because of Covid-19.
