Auckland has moved to alert level 3 lockdown for seven days from February 28 at 6am.
Editorial
EDITORIAL
The buzz of the Blues opening their Super Rugby Aotearoa campaign with a win over the Hurricanes had barely eased before a different buzz brought bad news.
The loud Covid-19 alert appeared and sounded on phones at 9.53pm to say that Auckland was heading back to level 3 forseven days from Sunday morning.
And the rest of New Zealand will be in level 2 for the same period.
This time it is not a hopeful three-day lockdown but a full week, which immediately transmits an expectation this cluster could be hard to pin down.
But having been through several lockdowns now, we're all aware of what's required. We just have to lump the inconvenience.
The restrictions have been introduced after a new community case of Covid-19 was detected. The person had visited a GP for a Covid test, but then went to the gym.
Unfortunately that's the second instance in a week of bad judgment from someone infected with the coronavirus.
Another person who had been told to stay home and isolate, instead worked a shift at a KFC fast-food restaurant last Monday.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern expressed frustration many others would share at such thoughtlessness. "People who should have been in isolation, weren't ... Please follow the rules, on behalf of everyone."
But she also urged understanding, saying people make mistakes and the country won't succeed if "we turn on one another".
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern revealed the new lockdown late on Saturday night. Photo / File
A key concern about the new case was the person had been infectious for a week and not been in isolation. Ardern said the person had been to a number of "well-populated sites" and worked part-time at the airport.
Over the week public venues in Auckland will be closed and gatherings outside bubbles are prohibited. Supermarkets will remain open.
Aucklanders will need to work from home and children will stay home from school.
All sports games are cancelled, including the Auckland Round the Bays.
The border around the city has been re-established.
A possible concern to authorities is that gyms can be risky places for Covid-19.
Two United States studies showed that gyms where users did not wear masks were high-risk for virus spread.
In Chicago, 55 out of 81 fitness class attendees developed Covid-19.
In Hawaii, 21 people contracted the virus last July from a cycling fitness instructor who worked for three days while infected. Doors and windows were closed, which increased the chances of spread.
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention last week urged gym-goers to mask up and follow social-distancing rules.
At least New Zealanders know there is light at the end of the tunnel now some vaccine doses are already here and are being distributed to frontline workers.
On Saturday, one of the vaccines set to arrive here later in the year, gained approval from health advisers for use in the US. The acting head of the Food and Drug Administration said the agency would follow the recommendation.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a single shot and easy to handle. It protects against the worst effects of Covid-19, and it can be stored for up to three months in normal fridges.
