and tangihanga. instead, people who had been quarantined would be allowed to apply for an exemption to gather with a small group of loved ones to mourn. previously, the health ministry had allowed 142 people in mandatory quarantine to attend funerals and tangihanga. on 16 june, clark suspended compassionate exemptions for travellers after two women who had visited the country in june to attend a funeral tested positive for covid-19. the suspension remains in force until the government is satisfied with the health ministry's procedures. on 17 june, ardern announced that the new zealand defence force's assistant chief of defence air commodore darryn webb would oversee the country's border and quarantine isolation facilities in response to the recent outbreak reported on 16 june. on 18 june, bloomfield announced that all travellers on trans-tasman flights will be required to wear face masks in response to the three recent cases resulting from overseas travel. on 19 june, housing minister megan woods was given joint responsibility with air commodore darryn webb for overseeing isolation and quarantine facilities for travellers entering new zealand. on 22 june, ardern announced that the government would be amending its health order to require people to test negative for covid-19 before leaving quarantine. the government also extended the ban on cruise ships beyond 30 june. while exceptions will be made for cargo ships and fishing vessels, any ship crew arriving in new zealand would need to spend 14 days in quarantine if they had not been on the vessel for 28 days prior to docking. on 23 june, woods indicated that the government was considering getting returnees to pay part of the costs of the managed isolation and quarantine process due to rising costs. that same day, clark announced that border staff, air crew, and quarantine workers would receive priority for covid-19 testing. on 24 june, clark and bloomfield admitted that 51 of the 55 people who had left managed isolation early on compassionate leave had not been tested for covid-19. of the 55 granted compassionate leave, 39 had tested negative while seven won't be tested for medical reasons or were children. one was wrongly counted because their leave application was withdrawn. of the remaining eight, four are awaiting test results while four have not yet been tested. opposition leader todd muller described the health ministry's procedural lapse as a "national disgrace". on 27 june, the health ministry acknowledged that 2,159 people had left managed isolation facilities between 9 and 16 june. of these, 1,288 had tested negative for covid-19 and that a further 367 were awaiting testing. the ministry also acknowledged that it was still trying to contact 427 people who had left managed isolation. 137 people were not eligible for testing for various reasons including being a child under six months, being part of repositioning crew, and currently being overseas. 79 people have refused to be tested. on 29 june, clark announced that it was investing $150 million in personal protective equipment from their $50 billion covid-19 response and recovery fund unveiled in the 2020 new zealand budget. in addition, returnees in isolation facilities are also required to wear face masks. july 2020 on 2 july, clark resigned from his portfolio following criticism over his leadership and actions during the pandemic. he stated that he "was becoming a distraction in the government's ongoing response to the covid-19 pandemic in new zealand and health reforms." ardern appointed chris hipkins as interim health minister until the 2020 new zealand general election, which at that time was scheduled for 19 september. megan woods took on responsibility for border management (covid response and quarantine). on 7 july, the government asked air new zealand and singapore airlines to manage international bookings to new zealand over the next three weeks to ensure that quarantine facilities are not overwhelmed by the volume of returnees. air new zealand said that 5,500 people were booked to travel back to new zealand with the airline over the next three weeks. on 15 july, ardern released the government's covid-19 response framework, which would involve localised lockdowns in the event there was another community-wide outbreak of covid-19. the framework is based on similar localised lockdown policies in victoria, new south wales, hong kong, singapore, and south korea. on 21 july, health minister hipkins announced that the government would be investing $302 million into health services, including $150 million over two years for pharmac, $30 million into the national close contact service, $23 million into a national immunisation solution, $35 million for more ventilators and respiratory equipment, $50 million for personal protective equipment supplies, and $14.6 million for telehealth services. on 29 july, housing minister megan woods announced that some travellers entering new zealand would have to pay for their 14-day stay in managed isolation. the isolation stays will cost $3,100 ($2,050) for the first adult in each hotel room, $950 for each additional adult and $475 for each child sharing the room. travellers affected by the new ruling include new zealanders who have left the country after the rules came into effect, those who intend to stay in new zealand for less than 90 days, and most temporary visa holders with the exception of family members of citizens who were not liable, diplomats, or those here for the christchurch mosque trial. however, new zealanders returning home permanently will be exempt from these charges. august 2020 on 9 august, the ministry of health confirmed that new zealand had gone 100 days with no known community spread of covid-19. on 11 august, four cases of community transmission were discovered in auckland. they were all from the same family, who had no link to overseas travel or quarantine measures in the country. ardern announced that the entire auckland region would move back up to alert level 3 from 12:00 on 12 august until 23:59 on 14 august. the rest of the country would move up to alert level 2 for the same period. on 14 august, ardern announced that the lockdown settings would be extended by 12 days until 11:59 pm on 26 august, and that the government would be extending the wage subsidy scheme to support businesses and protect jobs in response to the new outbreak. on 16 august, health minister hipkins issued a statement condemning the use of social media to spread personal attacks on the family at the centre of the recent community transmissions and conspiracy theories around covid-19. he urged new zealanders to be supportive of those being tested, saying, "people are not the problem here, the virus is the problem. people are the solution." on 17 august, ardern, following consultation with other political parties and the electoral commission, rescheduled the general election from 19 september to 17 october 2020 due to the recent outbreaks. in addition, the new zealand parliament's dissolution was delayed until 6 september. on 19 august, it became compulsory for all businesses to display the government's nz covid tracer qr codes at their doors or reception areas. by 18 august, more than 234,000 qr posters had been generated. that same day, ardern announced the deployment of 500 soldiers to replace private security guards at quarantine facilities and border areas. this would take the number of new zealand defence force personnel supporting new zealand's covid-19 response to 1,200, making it the largest deployment force since new zealand's peacekeeping deployment in timor leste during the early 2000s. on 20 august, hipkins issued a statement reassuring the māori and pasifika communities that oranga tamariki – ministry for children was not taking children away from people who tested positive for covid-19 in response to rumours circulating among the community and social media. on 24 august, ardern announced that auckland would remain under a level 3 lockdown until 11:59 pm on 30 august, when the city would move to level 2 restrictions. in addition, public gatherings in auckland would be limited to ten people while a 50-person limit would be in place for funerals and weddings. the rest of new zealand would remain on a level 2 restrictions until at least 6 september. it will be compulsory for people using public transport to wear face masks while the alert level is 2 or higher. on 26 august, hipkins announced that it would be compulsory for all public transport providers including buses, trains, ferries, ride-share vehicles and train operators to provide covid tracer qr codes for passengers from 11:59 pm on 3 september. on 27 august, he announced that the government would be distributing three million masks nationally. he also clarified that it would be compulsory for everyone aged 12 and over to wear face masks on flights and on public transport. however, masks are not be required on exemptions will be granted for health, disability, and practicality reasons, and are not required on school buses or on cook strait ferry services. violators face a $300 infringement notice or a court-imposed fine of up to $1,000. on 30 august, ardern confirmed that auckland would enter into "alert level 2.5" from 11:59pm on sunday night while the rest of the country would remain on level 2. under level 2.5, all social gatherings including birthday parties will be limited to ten people; masks will be mandatory for all aucklanders using public transportation; and aged care facilities will be operating under strict conditions. the only public gatherings allowed in auckland are funerals and tangihanga, which will be limited to 50 people. that same day, the prime minister apologised after a post on the government's "unite against covid-19" facebook page called on all people living in south and west auckland to get tested. september 2020 on 4 september, ardern announced that new zealand would remain on alert level 2 while auckland would remain on alert level 2.5 for at least ten more days. the new zealand cabinet would review them again on 14 september, when they would decide whether to adjust them at 11.59 pm on 16 september. that same day, immigration minister kris faafoi extended the visas of visitors due to expire before the end of october by five months. in addition, temporary migrants unable to leave due to international travel restrictions were granted a new two-month covid-19 short-term visa. on 6 september, the government introduced a new order requiring all border workers to undergo testing for covid-19, which came into effect at midnight on 7 september. on 14 september, the government extended the alert level 2.5 rating in auckland and the level 2 rating in the rest of the country by one week. ardern indicated that the government would consider easing restrictions the following week. while the government's decision was supported by cabinet, new zealand first leader and deputy prime minister winston peters disagreed with the extension of lockdown restrictions and invoked the "agree to disagree" provision. in addition, the government relaxed social distancing restrictions on public transportation including buses and planes. on 21 september, ardern announced that auckland would move into alert level 2 on 23 september at 11:59pm while the rest of new zealand would move into alert level 1 on 21 september at 11:59pm. under auckland's alert level 2 status, public gatherings of 100 people were allowed but a 50-person cap remained on funerals and tangihanga. october 2020 on 2 october, australian prime minister scott morrison announced that australia had formalised a deal allowing new zealanders "one-way quarantine-free travel" into new south wales and the northern territory from 16 october as part of steps to establish a trans-tasman "travel bubble" between the two countries. however, ardern ruled out facilitating "quarantine-free travel" for australians in order to keep new zealanders safe from covid-19, having resisted calls to do so from the opposition national party. national party leader judith collins stated that the travel restrictions and quarantine requirements for australians would hurt the new zealand tourism industry. on 5 october, ardern announced that auckland would shift to alert level 1 at 11:59 pm on 7 october, bringing the region in line with the rest of the country. under level 1, restrictions on social gatherings were eliminated while wearing masks on public transportation was no longer be compulsory but encouraged. on 28 october, newsroom journalist marc daalder reported that cabinet had been aware of the lack of capacity for testing staff working at managed isolation and quarantine (miq) facilities, airports,