Covid 19 coronavirus: Jacinda Ardern defends funeral limits

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern admits that the Government's limit on funeral numbers is a "sticking point for lots of people".

Under the rules of alert level 2 only 10 people can gather socially, whether at a wedding, funeral or a party.

However, large venues such as cinemas and restaurants can take more than 10 people, provided they are not seated close to other group.

Today on The Country, Ardern told Jamie Mackay the decision had been difficult.

"The hardest part, I think, of this whole period has been asking people - at a time when they all want to come together - not to come together, and that's been really, really tough."

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website

Mackay asked if Ardern was "defending the indefensible" by telling people not to hug each other at a funeral, while opening bars and allowing rugby games to take place.

"We've tried to be utterly consistent and so [there's] no one going out in more than groups of 10 at the moment, because that socialising, those spaces - weddings - that's where we had two outbreaks, a mix and mingle after a conference, we had an outbreak, a social event attached to a school, we had an outbreak ... and overseas there have been outbreaks in funerals. So times we come together has that risk attached to them.

"You won't see community-level sport kicking off for a while either."

Meanwhile, Budget 2020 will be announced tomorrow, and Mackay said farmers were keen to hear whether the Government will invest in water storage.

Although water infrastructure had been a "significant area of under-investment over a number of years", Adern said Covid-19 had changed the priorities of this year's Budget and did not confirm if water storage was going to be funded.

"This is a rebuild project now and the Budget is not the only piece of the puzzle for our rebuild. It is a big part of it, but only the beginning. So if you don't see it as a complete list, that's because it's not trying to be. There will be an ongoing programme of work out of the Government as part of our recovery from Covid."

Also in today's interview: Ardern talked about the possibility of more business support in the Budget, wage subsidy audits, and Winston Peters' comments on Taiwan joining the World Health Organisation.