Covid 19 coronavirus lockdown: What is an 'essential' service that can stay open?

KEY POINTS
• Coronavirus alert level moved to 3 - moving to level 4 at 11.59pm on Wednesday
• All non-essential businesses or services - bars, cafes, gyms, cinemas - to close
• NZ will be in coronavirus lockdown for four weeks from 11.59pm Wednesday
• From then, Kiwis should stay at home unless visiting an essential service
• PM says the cost of doing nothing could be tens of thousands of lives
• Govt to borrow tens of billions as it moves to ensure income for all New Zealanders
• What it means for schools, universities and other education facilities.
• What alert level 3 and 4 means for businesses and staff
• The country is going into lockdown: Your questions answered

The Government has updated its list of what is considered to be an essential business and, therefore, exempt from the alert level four lockdown.

The new list, on the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's website, goes into much more detail about who is exempt from the lockdown, beginning at 11.59 tomorrow night.

The categories remain the same as last night's list, but it now provides much more clarity as to who in which sectors will be exempt from the lockdown.

For example, yesterday MBIE listed: "Hospitals, primary care clinics, pharmacies, medical laboratories, care facilities," as essential.

The new list goes into far more detail: "Any person employed or contracted as a doctor, nurse, midwife, pharmacist, paramedic, medical laboratory scientists, kaiāwhina workers, social workers, aged care and community workers, and caregivers more generally".

See the full list below.

According to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) essential businesses are those that support people and provide the necessities of life for everyone in New Zealand.

This means food, medicine, healthcare, energy, fuel, waste-removal, internet and financial support will continue to be available, MBIE said.

This list may, however, evolve over time.

These businesses will continue working but will put in place alternative ways of working to keep employees safe, including shift-based working, staggered meal breaks, flexible leave arrangements and physical distancing.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern moved New Zealand up to alert level 3 on the Covid-19 alert system.

That will be moved up to alert level 4 at 11.59pm on Wednesday night.

That means all non-essential businesses and services must shut their doors as soon as possible.

Speaking to media, Ardern said essential services included supermarkets, banks, GPs, pharmacies, service stations, couriers and other important frontline service providers.

"I understand that self-isolation is a daunting prospect," Ardern said.

ALERT_STAGES

Public transport will only be open to those working in essential services, for medical reasons, or to move essential goods – including ferry services between the North and South Island.

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website

What are essential businesses?

Accommodation:

• Any entity that provides accommodation services for essential workers, isolation/quarantine, and emergency housing

Border:

• Customs New Zealand, Immigration New Zealand and the Ministry for Primary Industries

Building and construction:

• Any entity involved in building and construction related to essential services and critical infrastructure

• Any entity involved in building and construction required immediately to maintain human health and safety at home or work

• Any entity that performs or is involved in building and resource consenting necessary for the above purposes

Courts, tribunals and the justice system:

• Courts of New Zealand and tribunals

• Critical Crown entities (eg Electoral Commission)

Fast-moving consumer goods:

• Any entity involved in the supply, delivery, distribution and sale of food, beverage and other key consumer goods essential for maintaining the wellbeing of people, but not takeaway shops

Education:
At level 3 only:

• Any person employed or contracted as teaching, nursery and childcare staff, including specialist education professionals and others who provide support (eg to disabled children)

• Any person employed by or contracted to an educational facility

• Any entity supplying educational facilities or educational materials (eg printers)

Financial services:

• Banks, insurers and other financial institutions, including any entity that contracts or provides services to them (eg secure money delivery services)

• Securities registries

• NZX

Health:

• District Health Boards (and all of their facilities), Pharmac, New Zealand Blood Service, Health Promotion Agency, Health Quality and Safety Commission

• Any person employed or contracted as a doctor, nurse, midwife, pharmacist, paramedic, medical laboratory scientists, kaiāwhina workers, social workers, aged care and community workers, and caregivers more generally

• Hospitals, primary care clinics, pharmacies, medical laboratories, care facilities (eg rest homes)

• Any entity providing ambulance services

• Any entity producing health sector equipment, medicines and PPE

• Any entity involved with the deceased/tūpāpaku (eg funeral homes, crematories, cemeteries)

Local and national government:

• Any entity involved in Covid-19 response, enforcement, planning or logistics or that has civil defence/emergency management functions (including any entity that supplies services for these purposes)

• Key public services

Primary industries, including food and beverage production and processing:

• Any entity involved in the packaging, production and processing of food and beverage products, whether for domestic consumption or export

• Any entity involved in relevant support services, such as food safety and verification, inspection or associated laboratory services, food safety and biosecurity functions

• Any entity providing veterinary services

• Any entity whose closure would jeopardise the maintenance of animal health or welfare standards (including the short-term survival of a species)

Public safety and national security:

• The Department of Corrections, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Justice, New Zealand Defence Force, New Zealand Police, New Zealand Security Intelligence Service, Government Communications Security Bureau

• Courts of New Zealand

• Any person employed or contracted in a public safety or national security role

Science:

• ESR, GNS, GeoNet, NIWA, MetService

• Any entity (including research organisations) involved in Covid-19 response

• Any entity (including research organisations) involved in hazard monitoring and resilience

• Any entity (including research organisations) involved in diagnostics for essential services like biosecurity, public health

• Laboratories and Physical Containment level 3 (PC3) facilities that could provide essential services and products that could be used to respond to Covid-19

• Other significant research facilities including animal facilities, clinical trials and infrastructure that requires constant attention (eg samples, collections and storage facilities) that are important to New Zealand

Social services:

• Those entities, including non-government organisations, that provide welfare and social services to meet immediate needs, to be specified jointly by the Ministry of Social Development and Oranga Tamariki

Transport and logistics:

• Ministry of Transport, New Zealand Customs, New Zealand Transport Agency, Civil Aviation Authority (including Aviation Security Service), Maritime New Zealand (including the Rescue Coordination Centre), Airways NZ, MetService, KiwiRail (including Interislander), and any entity which is contracted by these entities

• Any entity that provides, or is contracted to an entity that provides, logistics services, including New Zealand Post and courier services

• Any entity providing, or is contracted by an entity that provides, transport services to the Ministry of Health, a District Health Board, a Medical Officer of Health, or a Controller (as defined in section 4 of the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Act 2002)

• Any entity which provides services related to the maintenance and ongoing operation of critical infrastructure (eg roads, rail, ports, airports)

• Any entity which operates or is contracted by an entity listed in Schedule 1 of the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Act 2002, an aerodrome, a passenger and/or freight aviation service, a passenger and/or freight shipping service, a road freight service, a rail freight service, a vehicle recovery service; or a public transport service (under contract with a regional council)

• Any small passenger service vehicle driver (who holds the relevant licence)

• Any entity providing services to keep vehicles operational for essential work purposes (eg vehicle testing, mechanics, tyre services)

Utilities and communications, including supply chains:

• Any entity involved in the production, supply, sale, distribution or disposal of electricity, gas, water, wastewater (eg sanitation), waste (eg rubbish collection), fuel, telecommunication services, and any entity that is contracted by these entities

• News (including news production) and broadcast media

• Internet service providers

• Any entity that provides maintenance and repair services for utilities and communications, including supply chains

• Any entity supplying services to an essential workplace that are required for the safe operation of that workplace (eg cleaning, security services)

VirusFacts2