The casino and entertainment facilities at SkyCity Auckland will remain closed until at least midnight next Wednesday 26 August as New Zealand’s largest city fights a new outbreak of COVID-19.
Having initially closed for three days last week as a precautionary measure after New Zealand’s first new cases in more than 100 days were detected in the community, SkyCity Entertainment Group revealed Monday that the closure will now be extended further. Hotels are currently open for existing guests.
SkyCity’s Hamilton and Queenstown properties also remain open at Alert Level 2 with physical distancing and hygiene requirements in place, SkyCity said.
The Auckland casino had previously reopened in mid-May after being shuttered for almost two months.
It was only one week ago that New Zealand hailed a remarkable milestone in reaching 100 days without a single new locally transmitted case of COVID-19. Within 48 hours that milestone was shattered by the news that a family of four living in Auckland had all tested positive, with no known source of transmission. As of late Monday, those initial four cases had grown to 78 with Auckland’s Alert Level raised back to Level 3.