Vehicle dealerships fully reopen with conditions May 14

New Zealand transitions to COVID-19 alert level 2 conditions from May 14 with auto industry showrooms, offices and yards able to fully open.

However, strict conditions around hygiene, social distancing and contact tracing remain until a review in about a fortnight, prime minister Jacinda Ardern says.

While retail, malls, cafes, restaurants, cinemas, gyms and more can reopen on May 14, schools return on May 18 and bars resume from May 21.

The hospitality industry is required to have a seating, spacing and single-service arrangement, while social gatherings are restricted to no more than 10 at a time.

Ardern says New Zealand will fully reopen for business by about May 21, the few extra days until then allowing for more data to be “locked in” to get the country’s economy moving sooner toward a “new normal”.

She says people can “burst their bubbles” although some restrictions will remain for a while yet, such as the 10 people limit on gatherings to better allow contact tracing and containment in the event of virus spread.

“You can see other people – but not all at once,” Ardern says.

She urges everyone to stay at home and get tested if sick, keep track of who they are seeing an where they have been and to maintain the 10 limit on gatherings.

An economic recovery budget is expected to be announced by finance minister Grant Robertson on May 14,

“Some people may be eager to return to an in-store experience, whilst others are happy to continue to ‘shop’ from the comfort of their own home,” Hyundai New Zealand general manager Andy Sinclair says.

He adds strict cleaning and sanitisation standards of all dealership and vehicle touchpoints to protect both staff and customers will continue, along with cleaning logs and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).

Contact information of visitors to dealerships will continue to be captured to ensure Hyundai complies with contact tracing requirements.