Covid 19 coronavirus: Restaurants, bars to reopen, 100-person limit for gatherings

Malls, cafes, bars, barbers and schools can open under alert level 2, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says. Kiwis can expand their bubbles to include friends and family and travel "safely" around the country, Ardern said.

After weeks of self-isolation, Kiwis will be able to finally head to the pub for a well-deserved drink when we move to level 2.

Rules under level 2 revealed by the Government this afternoon also show that people can once again go out for dinner or have a small party with friends.

Strict rules around funerals and weddings have also been dropped, and "small religious gatherings and ceremonies can be held with public health measures in place".

However, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today said indoor and outdoor gatherings, including weddings and concerts, would not be massive - there was now a limit of 100 people.

She reminded people to keep their physical distance - 2m between strangers - but less was allowed among people you knew "because we can find you and we can find them" for contact tracing.

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Service premises and office spaces could open, but "the fewer people the better" to make contact tracing easier and faster.

Staggered start times and working from home should still be a part of the mix, she said, and each business could work out their best practices.

Hospitality, including cafes and bars, can open but that meant only businesses that can apply the three "S's":

Seated - only have capacity for how many could be seated to prevent congestion.

Separation - there now had to be space between people and tables and each table must have a single server.

Service - only table service was allowed to prevent people gathering at the counter.

Customer contact outside venues, in queues for instance, would have to be controlled or businesses risked not being able to stay open.

Food should be prepared carefully at larger gatherings and served individually and not from a buffet.

As for having friends and family to visit, she urged people play it safe, keep surfaces clean, washing hands and keeping the numbers low to practise safe distancing.

Public venues, including museums, food courts and markets, could also reopen again.

However, there would be restrictions in place including the requirement to keep groups of people 1m apart.

This could require limiting the number of people inside at once.

Some venues may stay closed if they couldn't open safely.

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