Jacinda Ardern says she'll take a "very cautious" approach when weighing up any change in Auckland's and the rest of New Zealand's Covid-19 alert levels.
The Prime Minister was in Auckland today and told media a review into alert levels will be taken by September 6.
At midnight, Auckland moved to "Level 2.5" after more than two weeks at Level 3. The rest of the country remains at Level 2.
"As always, we'll look at the data, what it's telling us about this particular cluster and it's ongoing management," Ms Ardern told media in Auckland today.
"What is very fair to say - we will see cases from this cluster for some time to come."
Some people had called on the Government to keep the city in lockdown while there are still new cases emerging each day, however Ms Ardern said it wasn't necessary.
She said it would take a long time to have days of no new cases for consecutive days as was the case last time New Zealand moved from Alert Level 3 to 2, as the illness continues to infect family members of known confirmed cases.
"We know it's going to have a tail but it all needs to be managed and we have the ability to do that."
When asked if Auckland would likely stay at Level 2 for longer and the rest of the country move to Level 1 again, Ms Ardern said, "I wouldn't rule in or out any of those variations but at this stage we are being very cautious around the rest of the country as well which is why they are in Level 2 arrangements".
In Auckland today, the Prime Minister was pleased with the mask wearing she had seen.
At Alert level 2 or higher, wearing a mask or face covering on public transport became mandatory today for everyone over 12-years-old. In Auckland wearing a mask or face covering is encouraged when leaving home.
However, Ms Ardern too urged everyone to maintain physical distancing and hygiene measures, saying masks were "an added piece of vigilance, a tool that we have to keep ourselves and others safe".
"We are still a team here and I think everyone recognises that Auckland has been going through a particularly tough period, what I'd like to ask again is what we've asked all the way through - a bit of kindness, a bit of smiling with the eyes behind the mask.
"Remember that Aucklanders had been bearing the brunt of this latest wave and just to treat them with the thanks and care that they do deserve while we all continue to get through this together."
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