After 100 days of being free of coronavirus cases, New Zeland is going back into lockdown.

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⁣As of 12 noon on Wednesday 12 August, Auckland will move to Alert Level 3. The rest of New Zealand will move to Alert Level 2.⁣ ⁣ What does this mean for Auckland?⁣ ⁣ Under Alert Level 3, you are encouraged work from home if you can.⁣ ⁣ If you are currently in Auckland and do not live in Auckland, we suggest that you go home. Practise good hygiene and be conscious of your health. We recommend that you keep your bubble small.⁣ ⁣ Businesses are able to open, but should not physically interact with customers. Essential services including healthcare, justice services and businesses providing necessities are able to open. Bars and restaurants should close, but takeaways are allowed.⁣ ⁣ Schools in Auckland should close, except for children of essential workers. We encourage students to learn from home if possible.⁣ ⁣ Maintain physical distancing of 2 metres outside your home, including on public transport and it is highly recommended that you wear a mask if you are out and about.⁣ ⁣ Public transport can continue to operate with strict health and safety requirements. You should maintain physical distancing and wearing a mask.⁣ ⁣ Public venues should close. This includes libraries, museums, cinemas, food courts, gyms, pools, playgrounds and markets.⁣ ⁣ Gatherings of up to 10 people can continue, but only for wedding services, funerals and tangihanga. Physical distancing and public health measures should be maintained.⁣ ⁣ Inter-regional travel is highly limited to, for example, essential workers, with limited exemptions for others.⁣ ⁣ People at high risk of severe illness such as older people and those with existing medical conditions are encouraged to stay at home where possible, and take additional precautions when leaving home.⁣ ⁣ What does this mean for the rest of New Zealand?⁣ ⁣ The rest of New Zealand will go into Alert Level 2 on 12 noon on Wednesday 12 August. You can still continue to go to work and school, with physical distancing.⁣ ⁣ Wear masks if you can in public.⁣ ⁣ No more than 100 people at gatherings, including weddings, birthdays, funerals and tangihanga.⁣ More in the comments section⬇️⬇️

A post shared by Unite against COVID-19 (@uniteagainstcovid19) on Aug 11, 2020 at 2:52am PDT

New Zealand has unfortunately seen COVID-19 cases due to community transmission resurface after 102 days. As a result, Prime Minister Jacinda Arden is placing Auckland in a short-term lockdown.

The Kiwis will have to put their freedom on hold again, whilst authorities undertake rapid contact tracing and widespread testing in an attempt to locate the source of the fresh outbreak.

Earlier yesterday, Jacinda Ardern and NZ’s Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield revealed that four people in one south Auckland family returned positive test results for the deadly virus.

They said “We have been saying for some weeks that it was inevitable that New Zealand would get another case of community transmission,”

However, through the press conference, Prime Minister Arden and Ashley Bloomfield reassured people that they knew it was inevitable that community transmitted cases would resurface, and that the health industry is prepared for it.

However, this time New Zealand is going to regionalise its response to COVID-19. Auckland would be placed under ‘level three’ restrictions from noon on Wednesday until midnight on Friday. The rest of New Zealand has been placed on ‘level two’ – mandating social distancing and placing caps on gathering sizes. Additionally, the new regional approach will ban travel in and out of Auckland.

Schools will remain open, but public venues such as gyms, libraries, playgrounds and cinemas will be closed.