“We’ve been here before, and we will get through this again, but it’s important we all remember the basics and follow the rules.
“That means wearing masks on public transport, using the NZ Covid Tracer App wherever you go, washing your hands and staying home if you’re sick.
“This shift in alert levels will understandably be a cause of some anxiety in our community, so we also need to remind ourselves to be kind, be patient and look after each other.”
Auckland was put into Alert Level 3 and the rest of the country into Alert Level 2 at midnight after three community cases of Covid-19 were discovered in South Auckland.
The majority of the Dunedin City Council's services and facilities will continue to operate at Level 2, but there will be some restrictions in place.
The Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Toitū Otago Settlers Museum and Lan Yuan - Dunedin Chinese Garden, which all remain open but with hours slightly reduced, to 10am to 4pm.
Visitors will notice some changes, including the requirement to follow physical distancing guidelines and contact tracing protocols.
Many of the interactive ‘hands on’ elements of the visitor experience, including child play areas and activities, will not be available, and food and beverages will not be served at Lan Yuan.
Moana Pool remains open but for reduced hours and for lane swimming and aqua jogging only, while the leisure pool, spa, diving boards and showers are all unavailable.
The pool’s gym will be open from 5.30am to 8.30pm, but workouts will be restricted to one hour.
Community pools will also remain open for lane swimming, but with numbers limited, and Just Swim lessons have been cancelled for today (Monday, 15 February 2021). Decisions are yet to be made about lessons scheduled for later this week.
Other key services, such as the Green Island landfill and kerbside rubbish and recycling collection, will continue as usual.
As will the city’s water, wastewater and stormwater services, and water tankers will continue to supply residents in Waikouaiti, Karitane and Hawksbury Village affected by the recent lead-contaminated water issue.
