The Government has announced a three-stage roadmap that gradually eases COVID-19 restrictions in Auckland.
From 11:59pm on Tuesday, Auckland will remain in alert level 3 but people will be able to meet with those not in their bubble outdoors, with no more than two households and ten people mingling at a time.
Early childhood education will also return to normal and people can move around Auckland for recreation, like visiting the beach or hunting.
At stage two, retail stores can open as long as people wear face masks and there's social distancing. Public facilities like pools and zoos can also open and the number of people who can meet outdoors increases to 25.
And finally, at the third stage, hospitality venues can open. They can seat people at a distance with a maximum capacity of 50 people.
But the announcement to ease restrictions wasn't welcomed by everyone; National Party leader Judith Collins said the Government is "completely out of ideas".
"Elimination has failed but, while the Prime Minister says we've now moved to a 'transition' stage, the strategy is fundamentally unchanged," she said earlier on Wednesday.
"The Prime Minister's supposed roadmap to recovery is nothing more than a vague wishlist she tinkers with as dictated by the situation she reacts to. Where is the vision?"
Auckland University Professor Shaun Hendy says the relaxing of restrictions will see more spread and more COVID-19 cases in the community over the coming weeks.
"These new freedoms should reduce the risk of super-spreading compared to level 2, but still open up considerable opportunities for new spread. The Government will be hoping that any growth in cases that result is slow enough that vaccination can get ahead of the outbreak, before it puts significant strain on our testing and tracing system, not to mention our hospitals."
He says steps 2 and 3 in the Government's plan "really won't be safe" until New Zealand's vaccination programme is very well advanced.
"This will probably not be the case until well into November," he says.
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff says while the changes are modest, they'll be welcomed by many.
"With new cases of COVID-19 infections in the community still at significant levels, most Aucklanders did not expect a major lowering of restrictions this week," he says.
"None of us like being in a lockdown, but most recognise the risks that a major spread of the virus would cause while so many Aucklanders are still not fully vaccinated."
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