Auckland relaxes Covid restrictions

Auckland, March 12 New Zealand's largest city of Auckland relaxed its Covid-19 restrictions on Friday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

"Auckland is moving to Alert Level 1 at midday," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a press conference.

Auckland joins other New Zealand cities at Alert Level 1, which relaxes restrictions for the scale of gatherings, reports Xinhua news agency.

Due to the level adjustment, large events such as Sunday's Super Rugby Aotearoa game can now proceed with spectators.

The cabinet made the preliminary decision to move down levels on Thursday.

They awaited test results and confirmation that there was no further community spread before confirming the decision and announcing it, Ardern said.

This follows six days of Auckland being at Alert Level 2, with seven days prior to that at Alert Level 3, after 15 positive community cases emerged outside managed isolation facilities, she said.

"I know everyone in Auckland will be looking forward to a weekend with fewer restrictions, but we are asking that everyone keeps up the good habits that help us deal with cases if they emerge. That includes scanning in or keeping a record of everywhere you go," Ardern said.

( With inputs from IANS )