"It was a bit of a shock to the system. It's not the news I wanted to wake up and hear."
Dalziel said it is a reminder of just how contagious the virus is.
"It is just a huge reminder to be incredibly vigilant about using QR codes, wearing masks and the significance of getting tested if you have any systems, no matter what.
"It's going to be really important to get on top of this."
She said It is heartening 89 per cent of Christchurch residents have had their first dose of the vaccine.
"In three or four weeks we'll be at 89 per cent double dose, we're going to be ticking over the 90 per cent.
"The real message is the higher the rates of vaccination, the lower the need for any changes in our alert levels."
Dalziel said she is hoping the two infected people hadn't been out and about very much.
"Everything is going to come down to where the person and the other person have been over the last week.
"I've got my fingers crossed as I'm sure everyone else in Christchurch has."
The Blenheim case was the first infection in the South Island, which is at alert level 2, in nearly a year.
Dalziel hopes a snap lockdown will not be necessary.
The two positive Covid-19 cases in Christchurch from the same household and are both unvaccinated.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says the case has been in Christchurch for up to a week.
One member of the household had recently returned to Christchurch from Auckland.
The case tested negative for Covid-19 before travelling to Christchurch, and got a second test once they became symptomatic, Hipkins says.
He says he cannot rule out a snap lockdown in Christchurch, but they are still waiting on more information before making that call.
He said they expect to make a decision at 1pm.
Do you need a vaccine to fly on Air NZ?
Air New Zealand said that proof of vaccination is not required for domestic travel and the Government digital proof of vaccine will not be available until the end of November.
"While Auckland remains at level 3, travel is extremely limited and the airline continues to use enhanced safety measures to keep its employees and customers safe," the airline said.
Isolating at home
As for MIQ, Hipkins said one of the things they wanted to do over the last 24 hours is making sure there was more certainty and a road map for people to be aware, and what the trigger points are.
"We will be announcing today a reduced amount of time in home isolation."
In NSW and Victoria people don't isolate, Hipkins said their situation was different but NZ strategy was aiming to get high rates of vaccination around the country and want to suppress it and still needed public health measures in place.
Antigen tests were on their way into the country, he said.
New Zealand has a higher vaccination, lower case rate, and lower death rate than Australia, Hipkins said.
Hosking put to Hipkins that New Zealand was behind Australia's vaccination. He said that 71.7 per cent of Kiwis were double-jabbed behind Australia's 74.8 per cent total vaccination rate.
As of last night for double vaccination, Hipkins said New Zealand was ahead of Australia.
He said we had fewer people dying and the comparison wasn't a fair one.
