In yesterday's press release, Director General of Health Ashleigh Bloomfield urged people to remember that level three does not mean we can return to the normal level of social activity. 

It seemed that a lot of people wanted to celebrate the weekend the old-fashioned way - meeting up with friends for a drink or a chat. Between 6.00 p.m. May 1 and 6.00 p.m. May 2, police received 685 public reports of people breaching the level three restrictions, more than half of the 1,200 total reports they have received since the beginning of level three.

Police have taken enforcement action against 514 people for breaches of either the Health Act or the Civil Defence Emergency Act since alert level 3 came into force, prosecuting 135 and warning 342.

“We’re now nearly a week into level 3 and while there could be some excuses early on, everyone should now be more familiar with the rules, both around increased retail activity and our own social interactions.

“It’s been concerning to see some behaviours continue into the weekend and ultimately, this could slow a move to Level 2.

“Continuing to be vigilant will be key in supporting a move down to Level 2 as soon as possible,” says Dr Bloomfield.

The advice ‘stay home, save lives’ still applies. There are still over 200 active cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand, and we don't want that number increasing. It has been a long five weeks for everyone, but the more we practise social distancing, the more likely it is that we can return to level two next week.