Long lines of cars have formed as people wait for COVID-19 tests in Auckland and New Plymouth after the announcement of three new community cases of COVID-19 on Sunday afternoon.
Video / Dean Purcell / Jamie Morton
Kiwis are settling into the new restrictions from the rise in alert levels, but there has been confusion about who can do what, when and where.
Auckland is at alert level 3, meaning people are urged to stay and work from home if possible and sticking to their household bubbles.
Meanwhile, the rest of the country is at the more relaxed alert level 2 which means people can go to the work or to the gym but weddings, funerals or social gatherings have a maximum of 100 people.
Key factors the Government is taking into consideration as to when to lift the current lockdown are pinning down the source of the outbreak and an increase in community transmission.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is giving daily press conferences at 4pm to provide updates on how their investigation and case numbers are going, however she has indicated Cabinet wouldn't be making a decision about going down an alert level until tomorrow.
• Stick to your household bubble and don't socialise with family or friends from other houses.
• Children must stay home from school, unless their parents are essential workers.
• Essential services will remain open. The list includes supermarkets, dairies, butchers, fishmongers, greengrocers, petrol stations, pharmacies and permitted health services.
• Other shops and businesses can only operate on a no-contact basis, eg customers pay online or over the phone with contactless pick-up or delivery.
• Public facilities including food courts, gyms, libraries, museums, cinemas and playgrounds are now closed.
• Public gatherings are banned, except for weddings, funerals and tangi, which are restricted to a maximum of 10 people.
• Travel is restricted to essential purposes within your local area, such as going to work, school, shopping and exercise.
• Anyone travelling on public transport must wear a mask/face covering of some sort.
Rest of New Zealand
• Those outside of Auckland can still go to work and school as normal.
• Events such as weddings and funerals are allowed to have a maximum of 100 people.
• Public facilities, workplaces and retail stores can stay open - but people are encouraged to physically distance themselves at least a metre from others.
• There may be restrictions at places such as hospitals, which may have a limit on visitor numbers.
Auckland border
Auckland is defined by the Super City boundaries, which stretch north past Wellsford and Te Hana and south past Pokeno, stopping just short of Meremere on SH1.
Police have 11 checkpoints in place to stop drivers from entering or leaving Auckland unless their journey is essential.
You will need a business travel document to prove this, eg a delivery docket for truck drivers.
• Tuakau Bridge-Port Waikato Rd intersection with Klondyke Rd
Between midnight on Sunday 14 February 2021 and 4pm on Monday 15 February 2021 police processed 14,142 vehicles through these checkpoints.
At the southern checkpoints, of the 8607 vehicles which came through, 779 were turned away.
At the northern checkpoints of the 5,535 vehicles which came through, 715 were turned away.
Locations of interest
The places visited by the three people with Covid-19 are listed as locations of interest by the Ministry of Health. There are now 22 locations of interest after an additional visit to the Ranfurly Skinny Superette was added late on Monday.
As well as visiting the superette on February 13, they also went there a day earlier on February 12 between 5.30pm and 6.35pm.
The other stations are in Northcote, Balmoral, Henderson, Botany, New Lynn, Wiri, Otara and Takanini.
Who should get tested? Ministry of Health advice is only those who have visited the locations of interest - which stretch between South Auckland, through the Waikato and New Plymouth, should ring Healthline and organise a test.
Those who visited those sites and have symptoms are urged to get a test immediately.
Travel - Auckland and New Zealand
No one can travel in or out of Auckland by plane, bus or train, except in special circumstances, such as essential business travel, leaving or returning to NZ, urgent medical care or court-ordered travel.
Air New Zealand says customers with existing bookings between Monday February 15 and Sunday February 21 who wish to rebook to travel before Sunday March 7 will have any fare difference waived.
Customers who hold a ticket for a domestic flight scheduled to depart up until March 30 and no longer wish to travel can receive a credit via online booking.
A spokesperson said it had so far cancelled 44 domestic jet services and 12 turboprop services into or out of Auckland today due to customers opting to change their bookings or choosing not to fly.
Impacted customers are being contacted and will be able to rebook online.
The Northern Explorer train between Auckland and Wellington has come to a stop, while the Coastal Pacific train, from Picton to Christchurch, has also been shut down until Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern reveals the status of alert levels at 4pm on Wednesday.
New Zealand Cricket has confirmed matches can still go ahead behind closed doors at alert level 2, but should Auckland - for example - remain at level 3 when games are scheduled in the city, they'll need cancelling.
Neither of the two touring sides plan to travel to the North Island until March.
The first international is between the Black Caps and Australia in Christchurch on Monday.
The Blues have had to cancel their Super Rugby warm-up match with the Crusaders set for this weekend due to their inability to train.
Tomorrow's Prada Cup final between Italy and the UK is also affected with the shutdown of the America's Cup village.
Organisers of the Auckland Lantern Festival, Pride and Splore are both monitoring the situation until Wednesday afternoon before making a call on whether to cancel their events which can only go ahead in level 1.
Lantern festival organisers are continuing with their planning in the meantime, while Splore organisers are 'crossing fingers and sending positive vibes' for it go ahead.
Although Pride Festival organisers were allowed to continue with its Big Gay Out on Sunday, they were anxiously waiting on updates as to whether its Pride Parade on Ponsonby Rd on Saturday night will happen.
Tonight's opening of "Te Whare Kapua" at Mangere Arts Centre has been cancelled, as well as the Wednesday and Thursday shows.
Auckland Unlimited, the council-controlled organisation that oversees big events, said it is working with the Ministry of Health and other agencies and event partners to ascertain any potential effects should the alert level remain unchanged or move to level 2.
Travel to Australia
Australia has suspended "green-zone" travel for three days. New Zealanders visiting Australia will have to spend 14 days in hotel quarantine.
Courts
No new criminal jury trials will start in the Auckland High Court, and Auckland and Manukau District Courts while the city is in level 3.
Jury trials currently underway will be suspended until the alert level is lowered unless it has already reached the deliberation stage.
Vaccines
The first batch of Covid-19 vaccines - 60,000 doses or 30,000 courses - arrived in Auckland on Monday and will be delivered from Saturday, starting with workers at the border.
Sickness
No matter where you are around the country, if you are sick or have flu-like symptoms stay home and call your family doctor or Healthline on 0800 611 116 to get tested.
The lockdown
The current Auckland lockdown was prompted by three community cases in Auckland with no clear connection to the border - a mother, father and daughter from Papatoetoe. For a full list of locations visited by the family in Auckland, Taranaki and Otorohanga with dates and times, visit covid19.govt.nz.
