Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
End of dialog window.
This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.
Autoplay in
5
Disable Autoplay
Cancel Video
Alert level 2: Retail, malls, cafes, restaurants, cinema and other public spaces can reopen this Thursday. Schools will reopen on May 18 and bars on May 21.
Aucklanders desperate to borrow a stack of library books or take a dip in a public pool may need to wait a few extra days.
Auckland Council has warned that its libraries, pools, leisure centres and community centres are likely to reopen in stages, rather than all at once.
Thisafternoon Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that New Zealand will move to alert level 2 on Thursday.
Retail stores, malls, cafes, restaurants, cinema, schools and other public spaces can reopen in 48 hours, though physical distancing is still needed.
In a statement this evening, the Auckland Council said it welcomed the impending lowered alert level after six weeks of lockdown.
But chief executive Stephen Town said the council was carefully considering how and when to open its facilities as level 2 began.
"With more than 400 facilities throughout Auckland, including 55 libraries, 38 pools and leisure centres, and nearly 250 council-run and community-led venues, we need to open our facilities in level 2 in a way that is safe and manageable for our staff and customers and locks in the gains we made in level 3," he said.
