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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says Auckland will come out of level 3 at midnight tonight and has reassured Kiwis that good systems are in place, but alert levels will be raised again if needed.

Director of Public Health Dr Caroline McElnay said there are two new cases on Sunday. Both are in the community and linked to the large Auckland cluster.

Ardern thanked Aucklanders, who come out of level 3 lockdown at 11.59 on Sunday - but also urged them to "keep going" and do their part.

And she had a warning too: "We will step up levels again if we need to." 

However, if people play their part, that won't need to happen, she said.

"We need the team of 5 million to help us get back where we need to be. Our system is only as good as our people."

Ardern also said she was "incredibly angry" a wrong message was posted by the Government's Covid-response unit, saying all South and West Aucklanders should be tested, regardless of whether they have symptoms.

One new case is a household contact of a previously confirmed case associated with the Finance Now workplace.

The other new case is associated with an existing Tokoroa case and is a healthcare worker who works at a medical centre in Tokoroa. It is believed they came into contact with the existing case on August 17.

As per usual protocols, a test was carried out following exposure which returned a negative result. The positive result was picked up on a second test when the person became unwell, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

The medical centre they work at is closed pending further contact tracing and is  undergoing a deep clean. The centre had been operating under Level 4 precautions with personal protection equipment, telehealth and patient screening.

The potentially infectious period for this case was between August 25-27. The case, who lives alone and has no household contacts, has been in isolation since 27 August 27.

Contact tracing is actively under way which includes contacting staff and patients of the medical centre. Two testing sites are available in Tokoroa today.

There are 10 people with Covid-19 currently in hospital - two are in intensive care.

There are 136 active cases in New Zealand - 20 are in managed isolation facilities, 117 are in the community. That means there have been 1378 Covid-19 cases in New Zealand.

There have been 750,000 tests in New Zealand to date, and 2475 people have been contacted since the latest cluster outbreak began.

NEW LEVEL FOR AUCKLAND - 2.5

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern thanked Aucklanders, who come out of level 3 restrictions at 11:59 today - but also urged them to "keep going" and do their part.

She said there were still cases coming through in the large Auckland cluster.

"We do expect that to continue," she said, and the tail of this cluster "will be long".

Some 268,000 tests have been done since the cluster was identified.

"We are still dealing with a single source, and a single cluster."

However, that source is yet to be identified. There have been no links found to managed isolation facilities.

Ardern said it was "highly likely" that more Covid-19 cases will be found in the Mt Roskil mini cluster.

She said the Government has always said New Zealand could be in alert level 2 when there is an active cluster, and that our systems are good and designed for the scenario in place at the moment. However, she said the system only works if people are playing their part. 

After 18 days, Auckland moves out of level 3 lockdown at midnight tonight - essentially to level 2.5. That means social gatherings will be limited to 10 people

"I cannot express how important that is," Ardern said. "If we want to stop the spread, we need to stop socialising for some time."

From tomorrow, masks need to be worn on all form of public transport from people older than 12 throughout New Zealand, and Ardern urged Aucklanders to follow those rules.

"Basically, when you step out of your home... we are asking you to wear a mask."

She would not rule out mandating the use of masks if people don't wear them.

Ardern asked Aucklanders not to attend mass gatherings across the country, and said people needed to use their common sense.

She said it was "highly unlikely" there is Covid outside Auckland and "we want to keep it that way".

There will be tight restrictions on aged care facilities.

Ardern said the Government is also stepping up its response - outlining that having a Covid QR code in a business is mandatory.

She asked anyone with cold or flu symptoms to get a test, and that people without symptoms will be asked to take a test in parts of Auckland.

PM ANGRY OVER WRONG MESSAGING 

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she is "incredibly angry" that a wrong message was posted by the Government's Covid-response unit, saying all south and west Aucklanders should be tested, regardless of whether they have symptoms.

She said the message was "wrong" on the topline of a Facebook post on Saturday - and people did not have to be tested if they were asymptomatic.

The message has led to confusion for many residents. There are more than 500,000 people in South and West Auckland and there have been some long queues at testing stations today.

The post was still present on Intsagram at 1.26pm today - and reportedly on the Ministry of Health website - despite the Prime Minister saying she had met officials this morning to outline her frustration and to fix the message.

The topline message was an "oversimplification", she said.

She said there was an attempt to keep a message simple, but it had been done "badly".

"We are not asking every single person in West and South Auckland to get a test."

Ardern said not all of the communication was signed off by her but it "has to be the case" that a mistake like this did not happen again.

"We just can't afford to have messages likes this to go out."

She said she would be working with the All of Government department to fix this issue.

EXPERTS CONCERNED 

Covid-19 data modelling expert Shaun Hendy says moving Auckland to alert level 2 makes him nervous when cases were still being uncovered with no link to the big Auckland cluster.

"Given just we've got these cases that we haven't picked by contact tracing, these are people that have been picked up via [community testing], that's certainly something the government should be considering - an extension to level 3."

Prof Hendy said easing the travel restrictions means people could spread the infection to other parts of the country.

Epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker said the move to alert level 2 could see a growth in the case rate.

"It does suggest if we reduce the controls starting tomorrow that that transmission will not go away and it may actually drift up, or track up, over the next few weeks.

Prof Baker said requiring masks use in all indoor environments is one of the few ways left to keep a lid on the spread.

POLICE TO HAND OUT MASKS

Police will be distributing thousands of masks as people ease into the new level 2 restrictions from Monday.

Wearing a mask will be mandatory on public transport, including buses, trains and ferries at levels two and above.

Assistant Commissioner Richard Chambers said officers will be at transport hubs and other areas where there is a high volume of pedestrians, to remind people of the new restrictions and mask requirement.

Chambers said while Auckland will no longer be at level 3, there are still restrictions on gathering numbers and physical distancing.

- NZ Herald and RNZ