Wellingtonians are urged to stay vigilant and get tested for COVID-19, even as the city prepares to move back to alert level 1.
Wellington was put into alert level 2 on Wednesday after a traveller from Sydney who later tested positive for COVID-19 spent a weekend in the city. As a result, there are 20 locations of interest linked to this case.
After nearly a week, the city will return to level 1 at 11:59pm on Tuesday.
COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says anyone who is in Wellington but hasn't yet checked if they visited a location of interest is urged to do that and get a test if needed.
"If you have any symptoms of a cold or a flu, any aches and pains at all, please stay home, call Healthline or your GP, and arrange to get a COVID-19 test," he told reporters on Tuesday.
"The more tests we do, the more results we receive, the more certain we will be that there is no COVID-19 here in the Wellington region."
He adds that if the virus was in the community, health officials would have received evidence of that by now - but the city still needs to remain vigilant.
"We need to remain at a higher state of alert, although not alert level 2, until the full 14 days has passed since that Sydney case left our shores."
The Sydney traveller has the Delta variant of COVID-19, which was first identified in India. This variant is considered more transmissible and dangerous than the original strain of the virus.
Hipkins says Wellington was put into level 2 for the past week "out of an abundance of caution", given the infected case has this more infectious variant.
"Given the large number of highly-populated places that the case visited while they were potentially with the COVID-19 Delta variant, we did think that was a prudent course of action," he says.
"Given that there have been no new cases of COVID-19 detected, nearly 2500 negative test results from close contacts of the case, including repeat negative results from the case's closest contacts, Cabinet has agreed to shift the Wellington region back to alert level 1 from 11:59pm tonight."
Quarantine-free travel will be allowed from South Australia, the ACT, Tasmania, and Victoria from 11:59pm on Sunday after it was abruptly paused last week, but pre-departure tests will be required. Cabinet will review the pause with other states and territories next week.
In Queensland, two new community cases of COVID-19 were announced on Tuesday and parts of the state will enter a snap three-day lockdown. It will start at 6pm on Tuesday night (local time) and is scheduled to finish 72 hours later at 6pm on Friday. Restrictions will be in place for southeast Queensland, Townsville, Palm Island, and Magnetic Island.
The only reason people are allowed to leave during this time is for attending essential education or work that can't be done at home, going to healthcare services, providing care or support to a vulnerable family member, essential shopping, or exercise.
