National leader Judith Collins is calling on the Government to provide a plan out of lockdown for Auckland.
In a statement on Tuesday, she posed a series of questions to the prime minister.
They included what Auckland's lockdown was about if it was not about elimination and if the Government was just buying time to catch-up on vaccinations amid a slow roll-out.
Collins said Auckland and the country needed to be given an idea of how long the lockdown would last and a clear path to move past it.
"Businesses, school kids and families across Auckland need to be given some idea on how long the lockdown will last. Is the lockdown now just buying time while we catch up on our slow vaccination roll-out? If so, what are the conditions for exit? People being asked to give up so much need to know when the restrictions will end," she asked.
"Case numbers were trending down but are now clearly on a steady rise since Auckland left Level 4. When will the prime minister release the health advice relied on to make the decision to reduce restrictions?"
The Covid-19 Response Minister says he knows people are "craving certainty" but Auckland needs to continue to step down to Level 2. (Source: Other)
Collins continued those calls on Breakfast on Wednesday.
"That’s what I’m saying to the Government. Share that advice. We’re not mushrooms, we don’t need to be kept in the dark."
She said schools in Auckland were in a "dire situation" and that was why National had supported the Government in making the vaccine mandatory for teachers .
Collins said more people needed to be vaccinated and the R-value needed to come down in order for restrictions to ease.
She said saliva and rapid antigen tests were needed more widely and the number of ICU beds needed to rise.
To move the South Island out of Level 2 and to maintain its "pristine" Covid-19-free environment, Collins said rapid antigen tests needed to be available for people leaving on planes and ferries.
She continued to call on the Government to adopt National's 'Opening Up' plan which had a strategy to end lockdowns.
However, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins later told Breakfast the Government wanted to keep Auckland stepping its way down to Level 2.
He said he knew people were "craving certainty", but he did not want to give them "false certainty".
Auckland was potentially on the cusp of seeing an escalation in case numbers as the virus spread "more readily" in the region.
He explained the virus was "finding other places to go", spreading from communities it had largely been seen in to other parts of Auckland.
Vaccination rates continued to be important.
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