Auckland businesses pen open letter to Jacinda Ardern

A group of central Auckland business associations have penned an open letter to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, asking for COVID-19 restrictions to be eased, Newshub reports. Heart of the City and the Newmarket, Parnell, Ponsonby and Takapuna Business Associations say they can operate safely in Tāmaki Makaurau at alert level 3, step 3. The Newmarket group’s chief executive Mark Knoff-Thomas said he is confident businesses can operate safely with social distancing, masking and scanning. “Government handouts are a lifeline, but all we really want to do is trade.”