The Prime Minister has announced what it will look like when New Zealand drops its coronavirus response from alert level 4 to level 3, likely next week.
While the deescalation will bring relief to cash-strapped businesses, many of which halted operations for four weeks during the Government-imposed lockdown, travel in New Zealand will still be heavily restricted.
However where the directive to Kiwis during alert level 4 was to 'keep it local', the new advice in alert level 3 will be to 'keep it regional'.
"The principle here is that we know at level 3, more people will travel to work or to take children to school," Jacinda Ardern explained in a press conference on Thursday.
"We don't, however, want to take potential COVID cases into other parts of the country, so restricting movement to only what is necessary is still the goal here."
New Zealanders are still expected to stay within their household 'bubbles', but can leave and travel to undertake 'essential personal movement'.
'Essential personal movement' includes:
- Accessing local services and businesses
- Going to work or school (only for those who have to)
- Low-risk recreation in local area
- Shared and extended bubble arrangements
- Emergencies and giving effect to court orders
- Travelling to permitted gatherings
- Relocating a home or business
- Medical reasons
- Those who have an exemption to travel because of compassionate reasons
- Foreign nationals leaving New Zealand
- New Zealanders resident in the Realm returning home
- People arriving in New Zealand from overseas and returning home after 14 days' isolation or quarantine at port of arrival (except air and marine crew)
It also means driving from one's home to the beach, to tramp in the bush or carry out other recreational activities are now within the rules - as long as you remain within your region.
The COVID-19 website says alert level 3 is still "not a time to take a holiday, travel between regions to celebrate birthdays or travel from one side of a city to the other to go to a supermarket when there is a suitable one in your local area".
Public transport will remain available but will be at reduced capacity to allow people to follow the recommended physical distancing protocol of two metres' space from one another.
Buses and trains will be regularly disinfected, but the Government recommends washing your hands as soon as possible after getting off. Those who are sick are advised not to catch public transport at all.
Inter-regional travel is permitted under the following circumstances:
- Workers travelling to do essential work
- Going to work or school (only in neighbouring region)
- Shared bubble arrangements, and
- Relocating a home or business
- Those travelling for medical reasons
- Emergencies and giving effect to court orders
- Those who have an exemption to travel because of compassionate reasons,
- Foreign nationals leaving New Zealand (except Cook Strait ferries)
- New Zealanders resident in the Realm returning home
- People arriving in New Zealand from overseas and returning home after 14 days' isolation/quarantine at port of arrival (except air and marine crew)
All other inter-regional travel is not allowed.
The Government will decide whether it ends New Zealand's lockdown after four weeks or extends it on Monday, April 20. If it opts to end the lockdown, alert level 3 will come into place from 11:59pm on Wednesday, April 22.
