Ms Ardern said the fact a portion contacts of Auckland cases were spread across New Zealand, including in the South Island, was a major reason why Alert Level 4 for the whole country had been extended to 11.59pm on Tuesday next week.
The outbreak had spread to Wellington and until more test results came back from across the country, it could not be ruled out that it had spread further.
She confirmed contact tracers are following leads in the South Island as several contacts were at places of interest in the North Island.
A press release from the Ministry of Health this afternoon said as of 9am today, 1189 individual contacts had been identified by contact tracers nationwide.
This number excludes contacts from large settings, such as Avondale College and the Central Auckland Church of Christ, which were still being assessed.
Of those 1189 contacts, 642 were in the Auckland and Waikato regions, the MoH confirmed.
However, 149 contacts were located throughout the rest of New Zealand with the location of the remaining contacts still being confirmed.
"The total number of contacts across the country is expected to increase as more locations of interest are identified."
This includes several who were at locations of interest in the North Island and have since returned to various places in the South Island.
So far officials have not confirmed any community cases of Covid-19 in the South Island, with cases only being reported in Auckland, Coromandel and Wellington.
At a press conference this afternoon Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was asked about the number of contacts who have been traced to the South Island.
Ardern said she did not have the precise numbers of contacts in the South Island, but indicated they were spread across the island.
"From the heat maps I have seen they are dotted through the South [Island]", she said.
Asked if the Government would look at a region by region approach to whether lockdown would be extended when Cabinet met on Monday, Ardern said: "It is really just too soon to say."
What happened next would only become apparent once more testing results came in from around New Zealand, she said.
The New Zealand Herald said it understood when Cabinet met it would decide based on latest cases and information - whether to reduce levels or extend by region.
Today the Alert Level 4 lockdown was extended for the whole country until next Tuesday.
Southerners have already begun voicing concerns some Aucklanders may be breaching Alert Level 4 rules in order to escape spending lockdown in the nation's largest city where the current outbreak is unfolding.
A Wanaka resident said she received a booking for her Airbnb from an Auckland family on the first day of lockdown.
The Wanaka woman declined the family's booking and filed a report.
She reported the case to police as a lockdown breach and hoped others would have done the same as keeping the community safe is key to getting out of lockdown, she said.
She warned people in the South not to be complacent about the recent outbreak.
"The reason I put the post on a local Facebook page is far too many people are complacent down here and think they are so far removed from Auckland there is little risk here," she said.
"I wanted to show them how easy it seemingly is for people in affected areas to just enter.
"All the empty holiday homes in Wanaka and Queenstown - they get flocked to when lockdowns happen."
Lockdown extension 'right call' - Hawkins
Dunedin Mayor Aaron Hawkins said continuing the Alert Level 4 lockdown was tough, but the right call, and the city is well placed to cope.
While all cases have so far emerged in Auckland and Wellington, Mr Hawkins says Dunedin – like the rest of the country – needed to play its part in stamping out Covid-19 once again.
"The Delta variant has a voracious appetite and we know it can spread quickly, so we can’t afford to take any chances. Lockdown is tough, especially for families and our business community, but those challenges need to be met to avoid the greater suffering of the virus going unchecked.
"We need to continue to be patient, kind, and support each other as we work together to get through this. We’ve done it before, and we can do it again."
Under Alert Level 4, the council would continue to provide on-street metered parking – and parking inside the Moray Pl and Great King St carparking buildings – free of charge, to support essential workers.
Council critical services – such as water, wastewater and rubbish and mixed recycling collection – would continue, although a pause on blue crate glass recycling was still in place.
Residents were asked to stockpile glass recycling as much as possible for now, and not to put rubbish in yellow-lidded bins.
Public facilities remained closed, while parks and reserves were open – subject to physical distancing requirements – and visitors to council playgrounds were asked not to use the play equipment.
Mr Hawkins urged everyone to continue to follow official advice, including staying home where possible; sticking to your own bubble; washing your hands; getting tested if you’re sick; wearing a mask whenever you’re outside the house; and scanning QR codes everywhere you go.
- additional reporting NZ Herald
