METRONEWS
© New Zealand Broadcasting School 2024

PM reminds Kiwis they're not out of the woods yet

Hugo Cameron
COVID 19 Metronews Update v2
COVID 19 Metronews Update  Emma Olsen

Jacinda Ardern says the Government continues to be firm on level 3 rules and asks New Zealand to stay vigilant.

In a Government update today Ardern made it clear there would be strict enforcement of alert level 3 rules.

Police had recorded 104 breaches in the first 18 hours of level 3, 21 of which resulted in prosecutions.

There were also 742 complaints of businesses not complying with level 3 rules, mostly around social distancing and businesses practices.

Ardern said the Government would not hesitate to take firmer measures to make businesses comply with new rules.

She also said there were issues with businesses and landlords not negotiating over commercial rents.

Ardern said some landlords were still asking for rent from companies with no current income, while some businesses were refusing to pay for months.

She said the Government was working on measures to work around rent for businesses affected materially by the pandemic.

The Prime Minister thanked businesses who used Kiwi ingenuity to open up shop while complying with level 3 rules.

“Good on everyone who’s working so hard to innovate, keep their customers safe, but also get their staff back to work," she said.

Ardern gave an update on school attendance as they opened up around the country.

As of 10.30 Wednesday morning there were 7,713 children attending early learning services and 11,846 at school.

This represented four percent of early childhood education and one percent of school attendance.

Ardern said the low number of attendees showed New Zealand was taking the lockdown seriously.

She thanked people learning and working from home for their commitment.