Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces phased end to Auckland restrictions; Waikato at level 3; rest of NZ stays at level 2. Video / NZ Herald
At midnight tonight, long-suffering Aucklanders have been told that they will get a taste of freedom after nearly 50 days of lockdown.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern yesterday released a three-step "road map" to ease lockdown in Auckland, beginning with step one: Allowing two household bubbles to mix outside in groups of up to 10 people as of 11.59pm.
Many Aucklanders immediately rushed to make plans to meet friends and whānau, within parameters set clearly by Ardern yesterday.
Telling New Zealanders that "the science tells us Covid finds it hard to spread outdoors", Ardern confirmed that Aucklanders will be able to meet another household outside, with a cap of no more than 10 people at any given time.
Doing the rounds of media this morning, Ardern's deputy Grant Robertson confirmed that it does not mean that bubbles can mix, so meeting with another household will still need to be socially distanced and masked.
So you can take your children to see their grandparents, but they cannot exchange a hug.
If bubbles are meeting for a picnic, they would still need to remain masked when not eating or drinking and would need to make extra effort to keep their distance when they removed their mask to eat or drink, Ardern said yesterday.
Yesterday, Ardern also promised that "children can have a play date in a park", a promise that left many parents scratching their heads.
It was left to Robertson this morning to attempt to clarify the rule.
The rules around playdates with young children would need to be practical, Robertson said, adding it would be hard to keep kids from interacting with each other closely.
"We're just asking parents to be careful," he told the AM show.
Children under 12 are still ineligible for the Covid-19 vaccine.
Yesterday, Ardern was asked if those meeting friends and family outside would be able to go inside to answer the call of nature.
In other words, if you meet with family in their back garden, can you pop inside to use the toilet?
Ardern told Aucklanders they would need to hold on.
"If you haven't got a good bladder don't stay for long." Ardern said when asked the question.
But this morning Robertson provided a more relaxed interpretation of the rules.
Robertson told the AM Show people needed to stay outside, but it should be practical - if people needed to go to the toilet, they could do so as long as they were not "gathering" in the toilet.
Robertson also had bad news for those hoping to get a friend to pop over to give them an outdoor haircut, telling TVNZ's Breakfast that we are not yet up to that phase of the road map.
Aucklanders will also be able to travel around the region to pursue outdoor recreational pursuits, like hunting, fishing, and walks on the beach, provided other rules on distancing, masks and bubbles are adhered to.
Ardern stressed that keeping all activities restricted to the outdoors was "fundamental to this change".
"Don't feel tempted, if the weather turns bad, to switch over to meeting in your homes," she said. "Being outside is what makes the difference here."
However, will an unsettled weather week ahead, the pressure will be on Aucklanders to accurately predict the region's notoriously fickle weather to plan their outings.
