On August 12, after more than 100 days without community transmission of Covid-19, Auckland moved to alert level 3 and the rest of New Zealand to level 2. Video / Will Trafford
Tonight will mark one week since Auckland joined the rest of New Zealand at alert level 1 for the second time in a turbulent 2020.
And with it, the restrictions of alert levels 2, 2.5, 3, and 4 feel like a distant memory while countries overseas continue to struggle withtheir Covid-19 responses.
Melbourne remains in lockdown, having been at stage four since August 2 with 12 new Covid-19 cases and one death reported yesterday.
On August 12, after more than 100 days without community transmission of Covid-19, Auckland moved to alert level 3 and the rest of New Zealand to level 2.
It came after it was announced four members of a South Auckland family tested positive for the virus the night prior.
People panic buying at Countdown Hobsonville as Auckland moves into Covid-19 alert level 3. Photo / Dean Purcell
Auckland moved back to alert level 1 on Wednesday last week at 11.59pm, marking 122 days since the nation reached the lowest alert level for the first time in June.
The rest of the country had been at alert level 1 since September 21.
The moves aligned with the first All Blacks test in more than 400 days, with 31,000 fans attending the first Bledisloe Cup match of 2020 in Wellington on Sunday.
There are no restrictions on domestic travel or gatherings, schools and workplaces can open but people are encouraged to maintain physical distances from strangers.
People are asked to stay home if they are sick and to seek medical advice about whether they need a test if they have Covid-19 symptoms.
Elsewhere, the British government carved England into three tiers of coronavirus risk on Monday in a bid to slow a resurgent outbreak.
It comes as the total number of active cases in New Zealand is 39, all of whom are imported cases, including one new case in managed isolation yesterday.
There were no new cases on Monday and no one is in hospital with Covid-19.
Fans pack out Sky Stadium in Wellington for the first Bledisloe Cup match. Photo / Photosport
After shrinking over summer, Covid-19 cases are rising in the UK as winter approaches, with those in northern England seeing the steepest increases.
Liverpool has been put into the highest-risk category, with its pubs, gyms, and betting shops to close. Shops, schools, and universities will remain open.
Meanwhile, there were at least 419 new Covid-19 deaths and 44,333 new cases reported in the United States on October 11.Over the past week, there have been an average of 49,674 cases per day, an increase of 15 per cent on the average from a fortnight ago.
More than 7.8 million people have been infected with the virus and at least 214,000 have died according to the New York Times database.
Metropolitan Melbourne remains the most restricted area in Australia, where they have been at stage four of restrictions for just over 10 weeks.
Empty streets of Melbourne are seen on July 27, 2020. Photo / Getty Images
People can leave home for only four reasons: shopping for food or essential items, care and caregiving, daily exercise, and work.
However, people are not allowed outside a 5 kilometre perimeter of their homes, unless the nearest supermarket is more than 5km away.
Restaurants and cafes will only be open to trade as takeaway and delivery businesses, with general retail remaining closed.
Unless people have been in a Covid-19 hotspot, they are able to enter Tasmania and Queensland. A hotspot has a rolling three-day average of three cases a day.
Group bookings at restaurants, cafes, or pubs are limited to just 10 people in NSW, 100 in ACT, and there are no limits at SA, Western Australia, or large venues in QLD.
Public gatherings of up to 20 people are allowed in NSW, 30 in QLD, 1000 in TAS, 100 in ACT, with no limits in SA, WA, and the Northern Territory.
