Level 4 lockdown

New Zealand will go into a Level 4 lockdown at one minute to midnight tonight.

At a joint media conference just minutes ago, the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said the lockdown would be in force for at least seven days in Auckland and Coromandel. The rest of NZ would be in lockdown for three days.

The lockdown follows the discovery this afternoon of a Covid-19 community case that has not yet been linked to the border or managed isolation.

The case is a 58-year-old Devonport man who spent last Friday and Saturday in Coromandel. The man’s partner, who is vaccinated, has tested negative for Covid.

Ms Ardern said although authorities could not yet confirm whether the case was the highly infectious Delta variant, NZ needed to act as if it was.

There are 23 places of interest, listed on the Ministry of Health website – five in Coromandel and the rest in Auckland. If anyone has been to any of these places during the times noted, they should immediately self-isolate and call Healthline on 0800 358 5453 for further advice.

Level 4 means:

• People are instructed to stay at home in their bubble other than for essential personal movement.
• Safe recreational activity is allowed in your local area.
• Travel is severely limited.
• All gatherings are cancelled and all public venues closed
• Businesses are closed except for essential services. For example, supermarkets, pharmacies, clinics, petrol stations and lifeline utilities.
• All schools and other educational facilities are closed
• People can travel to get a Covid test.