Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced a slight loosening of lockdown rules, meaning the sale of essential goods such as heaters, whiteware and computers will be allowed.
Retailer The Warehouse will be able to sell a limited range of products without opening its physical stores, the company confirmed.
Government clarification on the rules around essential businesses has enabled the retailer to sell a limited range of essential items like heaters, school materials and hygiene-related goods. The Warehouse said it would pack the goods at 16 selected stores and its two national distribution centres.
There is still no word on whether butchers will be allowed to re-open. Some butcher shops stocked up and were prepared to serve customers through the lockdown, assuming they were an essential business. Butcher shops around the country found out the day before the lockdown took effect that they were not classed as essential.
Questions are still being raised about which businesses should be classed as essential. Before the Alert Level 4 lockdown went into effect the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment promised to evolve the list of essential businesses as the lockdown continued.
New Zealand’s number of coronavirus cases reached 589 on Monday, the day after New Zealand’s first death from the virus. Sixty-three people have recovered. New Zealand’s first coronavirus fatality, Anne Guenole, was initially misdiagnosed with influenza that was complicated by an underlying health condition.
The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases worldwide has now reached more than 755,000 people, including more than 158,000 who have recovered.
