Aucklanders return to malls as NZ eases lockdown

WELLINGTON • Shops and malls in New Zealand's biggest city Auckland flung their doors open for the first time in three months yesterday as the city, which is at the epicentre of the country's coronavirus outbreak, gradually eased its control measures.

Retail stores filled up within hours of reopening from pent-up consumer demand while some shoppers reportedly queued up outside malls overnight to take advantage of early bird offers.

Libraries, museums and zoos were also allowed to receive visitors as the government eased coronavirus restrictions amid a pick-up in vaccination rates and due to mounting pressure from critics calling for more freedom.

The hospitality sector, however, remained shut.

In her first visit to Auckland since it was locked down on Aug 17, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the hospitality sector will reopen as soon as the city hits its vaccination target.

"We have maintained contact with hospitality representatives all the way through... We know how tough it's been," Ms Ardern said.

"But the light is at the end of the tunnel. We will see reopenings in the very near future as Auckland starts to hit those targets."

Ms Ardern has said the city will move into a new "traffic light" system to manage outbreaks rather than lockdowns once 90 per cent of Aucklanders have been fully vaccinated. So far, about 84 per cent of Aucklanders have received their second doses.

While New Zealand has been criticised for a slow start to its vaccination campaign, nearly 80 per cent of the eligible population has now received a second dose. Auckland schools can return to face-to-face learning from Nov 17.

Despite its success last year in eliminating Covid-19, New Zealand has struggled to fight off a highly infectious Delta variant this year, forcing Ms Ardern to move from a strategy of zero cases through lockdowns to living with the virus.

New Zealand still has among the lowest number of coronavirus cases in the world, with fewer than 8,000 infections reported so far and 32 deaths.

Apart from the 1.7 million Aucklanders, and residents in some neighbouring regions, life for the rest of the population has largely returned to normal domestically.

REUTERS