Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced Auckland will remain at alert level 3 and the rest of the country at level 2 for another 12 days.
These restrictions are due to end at 11.59 pm on Wednesday, 26 August and cabinet will review these restrictions on 21 August.
Ardern says “there is nothing to suggest we need to move to a level 4 lockdown.”
Authorities have identified 29 cases, at this stage all remained linked to an Auckland cluster, with one other case likely linked to the cluster.
Ardern says they have found this cluster “relatively early”. The earliest case to date is an Americold worker who first became sick on 31 July.
Contact tracing and genomic testing have not found a link to the border or managed isolation facilities, says Ardern.
The sequence is not the same as the first original outbreak, suggesting the virus was not dormant, but rather is new to New Zealand.
Due to the incubation period and experience with clusters, Ardern says this cluster will grow and may continue to be linked to schools, churches and social gatherings.
The government will extend the wage subsidy scheme to support businesses, with final details being worked out over the weekend.
The extension will be nationwide and cover the period of time restrictions are in place.
