Moving the rest of the country into Alert Level 2 while there are still community Covid-19 cases in Auckland has been dubbed a "calculated risk" by Covid-19 modeller Shaun Hendy.
Hendy told 1 NEWS there was still a risk of transmission outside of the Auckland region, but the new Alert Level 2 restrictions would help mitigate it.
"We’ve known we needed to adapt our alert level for Delta, we know a lot more about the virus.
"In particular we know that it’s spread by aerosol and that means it can linger in the air for minutes so you might not even know you’ve come into contact with someone with the virus, that person may not even be present when you pick it up so it’s important that we do adapt our alert level settings."
It comes with a set of new rules.
The Prime Minister Monday afternoon announced most of the country, excluding Auckland, would move to Alert Level 2 at 11.59pm on Tuesday, September 7.
However, Jacinda Ardern also announced changes to Level 2, including mandatory mask wearing in most indoor public facilities, a limit of 50 people for indoor spaces such as hospitality and indoor event venues, and a limit of 100 people for outdoor events if it is distanced and ventilated.
There will also be mandatory testing at the Auckland border for essential workers. Hendy said that would be a useful filter to reduce the chance of the virus getting out of Auckland.
"Mask use and event size restrictions will stop it polluting out of control should it get across the border," said Hendy.
“These changes just help mitigate that risk."
A cameraman and member of the public were knocked to the ground during the filiming of Hendy's interview this afternoon, more details on that at link above.
SHARE ME