The government has announced New Zealand, apart from Auckland, will move to Alert Level 2 at 11.59 Tuesday September 7. 

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made the announcement beside Director General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield this afternoon. 

Jacinda and Ashley both reiterated New Zealanders need to do two things well: follow alert level rules, and get tested if unwell. 

“To account for the Delta variant, Alert Level 2 will be different,” Jacinda says. 

“We are within sight of elimination but we can’t drop the ball.”

Face coverings are mandatory at Alert Level 2 in all indoor, public venues, such as supermarkets and retail stores. 

You will be allowed to take your mask off in hospitality businesses in order to eat and drink. 

Schools will be asked to use masks, but it won’t be mandatory. 

Schools outside of Auckland will reopen from Thursday. 

It will now become mandatory to scan or record your visit at all businesses and venues. 

Jacinda says even private gatherings are asked to keep a record of attendees in case of outbreak. 

She warned the Delta variant moves so fast that tracing has not been able to keep up. 

“Because Delta is more transmissible, we are worried about gatherings of people.”

She said it was indoor social gatherings which were the hardest to trace and biggest spreaders of the virus. 

A limit of 50 people will be in place for gatherings of people, as well as hospitality venues. 

Outdoor venues can have up to 100 people, as long as seatings and spacing rules are followed. 

Indoor public locations, such as gyms, museums and libraries will be brought into alignment for venues such as supermarkets and retail, with customer caps and 2 metre spacings enforced.

Dr Ashley Bloomfield says there will be bolstered efforts to control and test for the COVID-19 outbreak in Auckland. 

He says saliva-based testing will begin to be rolled out across Auckland, while essential workers who leave the area will also be tested.

At alert level two there are no restrictions on who can be included in your household bubble. You can go to work, and all businesses and services can open but legally must follow public health rules. Early learning services, schools, kura and tertiary education facilities are open to everyone.

“We are making progress but we still have some challenges ahead,” the PM said, adding the main challenges are testing and following the rules of alert levels.

She said officials are still seeing persistent “unlinked or mystery cases” attached to the outbreak which means they can’t tell if there are other cases causing community transmission.

“If you have flu or cold symptoms please get a test, no matter where you are in the country,” the PM said.

Find more information on alert level two here.

Cabinet will review the alert levels next Monday (September 13) and announce any changes that same day.