Auckland lowers Covid restriction level

Auckland, March 5 Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, will lower its Covid-19 restriction level to Alert Level 2 on Sunday after a week of citywide lockdown, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Friday.

Auckland moved up to Covid-19 Alert Level 3 from Level 2 on February 28, with the rest of the country moved into Alert Level 2 from Level 1, after two community cases were found, reports Xinhua news agency.

One of the cases visited several locations while being infectious, Ardern said while addressing a press conference.

People are asked to stay at home under Alert Level 3.

Their daily life activities can go back to normal under Alert Level 2 except that the scale of gatherings would be restricted to 100 people.

Alert Level 1 requires people to keep social distancing on mind in daily life.

Being under Alert Level 2 from Sunday morning, Auckland residents will be able to return to workplaces and schools and visit malls and restaurants.

New Zealand has so far reported 2,389 coronavirus cases and 26 deaths.

 

( With inputs from IANS )