It's a bit like being released from prison during the day but then being expected to go back into lockdown at night.
That's the effect of the Government moving Auckland out of alert level 3 and down to the newly invented level of 2.5.
While the rest of the country can attend gatherings of up to 100 people, Aucklanders are only allowed to get together with no more than nine of their mates.
And that applies when we travel away from the city. As Health Minister Chris Hipkins says, we are expected to carry the alert level with us.
They are now distributing Covid booklets for those who haven't got smartphones to download the tracing app. While they are at it, why not make up 2.5 cards to hang around the necks of travelling Aucklanders so that we are easily identified and can be given a wide berth?
What are those from the country's biggest city expected to do if they are going to a funeral? They're allowed to attend one in the city with no more than 50 in the congregation, presumably with the rest of the country allowed to have 100 at one, they'll have to stay away.
The Health Minister was adamant with a "NO" that would even do Winston Peters' credit, when he was asked whether he was comfortable with Aucklanders attending a tech conference being held in Queenstown over the next couple of days.
The conference could be a boon to New Zealand considering it's looking at companies wanting to expand overseas.
Health Minister Chris Hipkins is discouraging Aucklanders from attending a Queenstown conference.
Chances are most of the attendees will be from Auckland even if Hipkins doesn't want them there.
It's difficult to understand why Hipkins was so opposed to them going, given the Government's own Covid rules could have allowed the conference to even be held in Auckland. It's not a social gathering, it's a conference and the rule book says they are allowed to be held anywhere in the country with up to 100 people.
What's even more baffling is the views of health expert Michael Baker who was last week arguing with Ashley Bloomfield about the safety of travelling on full planes, providing we're all wearing masks. Now the good professor's saying there should be a travel ban on Aucklanders leaving the city, particularly when it comes to attending conferences.
Baker says the Queenstown conference is going ahead with Aucklanders despite calls from the Prime Minister for them to avoid mass gatherings.
It's not in the spirit of Jacinda Ardern's call, Baker opines. God forbid anyone defying the wishes of the country's Covid saviour!
It's also bewildering that the Beehive's railing against the Queenstown conference considering it's being sponsored by two big government departments, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, not to mention the brains trust at Callaghan Innovation along with other big players in the business community.
The reality is Aucklanders are even more aware of the Covid curse than anyone else in the country having been restricted and locked down for longer. And the fact is the outbreak of the virus in the city has been largely confined to one cluster.
