The Prime Minister is warning New Zealanders to expect daily Covid-19 case numbers to climb this week, but says this doesn't necessarily mean alert level restrictions will extend past the weekend.
Jacinda Ardern announced an extension to Auckland's Level 3 lockdown yesterday, as well as the rest of the country to remain at Level 2. The current alert levels will last until 11.59pm Sunday.
Ms Ardern told TVNZ1's Breakfast this morning the reason for the extra four days of restrictions was to make sense of the perimeter of the current Auckland community cluster.
"We want to make sure that when we come out and lift restrictions that we don't find in short order any backwards slip, that's something that we've always had as a focus - make the right decision at the right time and keep moving forward because that gives a sense of certainty for people.
"Those extra four days do make a difference ... it's essentially just making sure that we are in front of the virus."
The Prime Minister made the decision after a Cabinet meeting this afternoon. (Source: Other)
When asked if infection numbers ramp up, if extending Level 3 or even jumping to Level 4 was on the cards, Ms Ardern said it was "less about numbers and more about what the numbers tell us".
"We will see more cases, particularly because this is a large cluster, every time you have one person infected they'll often, even though we've got people in isolation and well-quarantined, they'll often unfortunately pass it onto family members.
"We've seen a lot of that with this cluster just because of its spread and its reach.
"So you will see more cases, you should expect that. What's more worrisome is if we suddenly see cases that we can't connect popping up around the place.
"That's what we look for more than just raw numbers, so at the moment there's no reason to suggest that we won't be able to lift on Sunday but we'll keep talking about those issues as we come through," she said.
Yesterday, Ms Ardern also announced in Level 2 or higher, face coverings are now mandatory on public transport.
Gatherings in Auckland will be limited to 10 unless you're in a managed environment while masks will be mandatory on public transport nationwide at Level 2 and above. (Source: Other)
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