Auckland on Wednesday night joined the rest of New Zealand at COVID-19 alert level 1, the first time the super city hasn't been under coronavirus restrictions since the community outbreak in August.
But COVID-19 modelling expert Shaun Hendy is warning Aucklanders not to become complacent, saying there are still serious risks.
Dr Hendy, from the University of Auckland, told Newshub early testing will be the key to stamping out any future community outbreaks.
"We've still got to realise that we've got ongoing risks at the border," he said on Wednesday. "We know our border management system isn't perfect. It's a very difficult thing to do, to keep the virus out, especially when we've got case numbers growing overseas."
Dr Hendy said it's inevitable that people will slip through the border infected with the coronavirus.
"The key thing is; if we can catch it early, if someone goes to get that test early, then we can avoid going into lockdown again," he said. "The key thing is avoiding lockdown and getting tested is the way to do that.
"We just can't be complacent - we've got to assume that there will be the occasional case that makes it through our managed isolation facilities."
But people should feel good the second outbreak has been seemingly eliminated, Dr Hendy said.
He's urging anyone feeling unwell to stay at home and get tested for COVID-19. Hand washing and wearing a mask when indoors with big crowds will also be key to keeping the coronavirus at bay, he said.
Meanwhile, Auckland businesses can breathe a sigh of relief with no restrictions on gathering sizes as of Thursday.
Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck says there's a major impact every time there's a lockdown.
"It's been very very difficult and I think what is very important now is we get people coming back into the city to work," she told Newshub. "We're keen to see domestic tourists here because there is a lot coming up over the summer."
She said alert level 1 is a win for the economy.
"The drop in spending over the same time last year for this latest period since August 12 is about $100 million," she said. "There's no question it has a massive toll, something like this. "It means that we not only have the loss of the international spending and we don't have the big events that are big attractors, but it also means we have a lot of people working from home."
Takapuna Beach Association chief executive Terence Harpur said grabbing a coffee from a local cafe and going to events will be crucial to Auckland's economic recovery.
Many businesses were on the brink of collapse and it will take time for some to rebuild, he said.
"Even at level 2, over the last few weeks, we've still seen a 25 to 30 percent reduction in spending from the same period last year so level 1 could not have come sooner.
"Level 2, and particularly level 3, were extremely tough on businesses - especially hospitality and businesses."
There are now no active cases of COVID-19 in the community. Three cases of coronavirus were detected at the border in the 24 hours to Wednesday.
