Traffic Lights

It’s quiet…too quiet. Yes, whilst the rest of the world has been getting on with life, New Zealand has continued in lockdown, at Level 2 for most of the country (maximum gathering size 100, so no festivals, concerts, gigs, sports crowds, or anything generally fun), and Auckland remaining in Level 3 – even worse, but they’ve recently introduced some easing of restrictions so you can get a haircut and a take-away. Just as a reminder, we went into a “3-day lockdown” on August 18^th, and have now been under the current restrictions for 106 days. That’s in addition to three shorter periods earlier in the year, bringing the total number of days under some kind of restriction to 123 days so far this year.

On Friday, though, that all changes, as the government does away with the old Level 1 - Level 4 system, and introduces the new Traffic Lights. Most of the country will move to Orange, whilst Auckland and surounding areas, and some parts of Northland, will remain at Red. No-one will get Green. The difference between the new and old systems is the level of freedom which will be afforded to vaccinated compared to the unvaxxed, and also how businesses will trade depending on whether they adopt the Government’s new app allowing them to capture the vaccination status of their customers. As vaccination rates in New Zealand top 90%, the dwindling number of deniers will find themselves unable to access any venues which demand a vaccination passport.

What does this mean for us? Cricket matches at The Basin – with crowds! There’s the Super Smash T20 competition coming up, and a lot of test matches, so that’s good. Gigs – Ladyhawke is still rearranging hers, but we have tix to see You Am I and Midnight Oil next year. Theatre – we can go to Circa, although they have remained open in Level 2, with just a restriction on numbers. Cinemas no longer need to block off alternate rows of seats. Pub quiz – we no longer have to remain seated at our tables, and the pub can undo the spacing of tables and allow – whisper it! – standing! Bar service! As far as Zealandia goes, tour groups can return to full size, so hopefully we’ll start seeing a pick-up in tour visitors over the Christmas and New Year period.

We’re still waiting for the abolition of MIQ in its entirety, but travel is now allowed into New Zealand in a phased programme, starting with fully-vaxxed returning New Zealanders and eligible Australians, from Australia: 17 January; fully-vaxxed New Zealanders from “non-high risk” countries (currently 9 Southern African countries plus Papua New Guinea) from 14 February; and foreign nationals from “non-high risk” countries from 1 May. Travellers not going into MIQ must test negative pre-departure and on arrival, self-isolate for 7 days, and get a final negative test before “entering the community”. This isn’t really going to work for the tourist industry, is it? “Hey, come to New Zealand and spend your first week self-isolating!”

Further details are “to follow” on this, but at least it looks like our trip to the Northern hemisphere next year will now be feasible.