Shopping centres, cinemas, cafes and restaurants to open this week in New Zealand

Jacinda Ardern lifts New Zealand’s lockdown: Shopping centres, cinemas, cafes and restaurants to open this week as it’s revealed there are only 90 coronavirus cases across the country

By Charlie Coë For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 06:04 BST, 11 May 2020 | Updated: 06:36 BST, 11 May 2020

Shopping centres, cinemas and restaurants in New Zealand can re-open from Thursday as the country continues to rollback its lockdown restrictions.

Other businesses deemed non-essential under alert levels three and four including cafes and retail stores can also open their doors again within the next 48 hours.

The new alert level two effective from midnight on Thursday morning also means schools can open again from next Monday.

Bars will have to wait until May 21 though before getting the green light to re-open, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.  

It comes as the number of active cases in New Zealand sits at just 90 – out of 1,146 total confirmed COVID-19 infections.

Pictured: A COVID-19 safe space for contactless customers outside a restaurant in Auckland on April 29. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced cafes and restaurants can re-open fully from Thursday

Ms Arden announced the easing of restrictions, while urging for caution – saying ‘we may have won a few battles, but we have not won the war’

Ms Ardern allowed sports teams to start playing again as long as they followed a 10-person limit on social gatherings after their game was finished.   

‘There does have to be a new normal,’ she said. ‘We will be breaking out of our bubbles – we will be around more people.’ 

‘Our plan was go hard, and go early, so we can get our economy moving again sooner, and so we can get the economic benefit of getting our health response right. So far, we have,’ she said.

Following the lead of her Australian counterpart Scott Morrison though, she said international borders would remain closed until future notice.

‘We all know there’s more to do. We may have won a few battles, but we have not won the war.

‘If we slacken up, we might move in the wrong direction.’ 

An Auckland school teacher prepares for the return of a small number of students on April 28. Schools in New Zealand can fully re-open again from Monday

JACINDA ARDERN’S GOLDEN RULES FOR LEVEL TWO ALERT 

Social distance if outside

Stay home if sick and contact your health provider if you contract flu-like symptoms

Stick to the 10-person limit on social gatherings

Wash your hands

A take-away service in Wellington is pictured on May 1. Cafes can reopen along with shopping centres and restaurants from Friday

Ms Ardern also threatened to re-introduce social distancing rules if New Zealanders did follow the ‘golden rules’ of the level two alert.

Those conditions include social distancing in public, staying home if sick, sticking to the 10-person gathering rule and thoroughly washing your hands. 

More to come

:

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk