New Zealand will stay in alert level 4 lockdown until at least midnight Friday, and Auckland will stay locked down until at least midnight on Tuesday next week.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has just made the announcement at the Beehive.
Cabinet decided to keep all of NZ until 11.59 pm Friday, she said. That would allow additional data on how contained the outbreak was likely to be.
The decision would be reviewed this Friday, and an update given in the afternoon. That would depend on waste water results, and any cases outside of New Zealand.
In Auckland, Ardern said level four had to be at least a 14-day cycle.
The decision on Auckland's lockdown will be reviewed on Monday.
Ardern said the longer period will allow time for more testing of known contacts, and waste water results, as well as whether new cases had been in isolation throughout their infectious periods.
"Aucklanders will see this data and will know this two weeks is a given."
She said the review of Auckland would determine whether the peak had been reached.
Ardern said Cabinet and the health officials remained confident about getting on top of the virus again.
"We just need to keep it up, ensure we are not in restrictions any longer than we need to be."
She urged people to stay home, other than for essentials and to wear a mask.
"To leave level 4 we need to follow [these rules] closely."
She confirmed Parliament would be suspended for one week.
"Physically bringing MPs to Parliament does pose risk."
She said ministers had been asked to appear before select committees this week, which would meet virtually.
She said to people who may be a contact to isolate and get others to do your shopping.
"If you need support, please ask for it."
She also urged people to get vaccinated.
"We are building a picture of the Delta spread."
Ardern said re-testing of all staff at Crowne Plaza and the Jet Park facility had revealed no new clues as to how the virus got into the community.
Ardern said 108,000 tests had been taken in Auckland alone, a good representative sample. She thanked people for their perseverance in being tested.
Waste water testing had returned positive only in Auckland and Wellington.
"With Delta more certainty is needed."
She said the move to immediate lockdown was important because Delta had a headstart on us.
She said on current numbers, each case of Delta had transmitted it to six others. That needed to be less than 1.
More than 13,000 contacts now recorded, but deliberately so.
Ardern said the more cautious approach of Delta meant there were more contacts. That meant there wouldn't be the same certainty of reaching all those who needed to be.
Ardern held up a map of the places contacts had gone to including several in the South Island.
She said almost 8000 people left Auckland during the 48-hour window to get home after the lockdown was announced.
Any reduction in alert levels would be to level 3.
Director general of health Ashley Bloomfield said the big exposure events they were concerned about were two weeks ago this Saturday, so that fitted with the lockdown until midnight Friday.
Ardern said the "go hard, go early" strategy last year was similar, and compared to the rest of the world it was short and sharp.
Case numbers could rise for another five days, says Verrall.
Meanwhile, new locations of interest have been added by the Ministry of Health, bringing the total to 302.
So far 13,230 contacts have been identified with less than half - 6773 - contacted by public health staff and self isolating.
The majority of the 13,230 contacts are close contacts and the number is expected to rise throughout the day as records are fully processed.
Hopes that some of New Zealand might be able to move out of a full lockdown early seem to be up in the air with Verrall saying "tens of thousands" of Aucklanders left the region when the lockdown was announced, and that's a risk.
"I think [falling case numbers] could still be a wee way away - it could be another five days before we see the impact of the transmission that was happening in the community prior to lockdown pass through," Verrall told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking.
Verrall said it was possible we could see a higher number of cases today than we had in previous days.
The Ministry of Health is still investigating how Covid was transferred from the New South Wales returnee at the Crowne Plaza into the community and is focusing on an open walkway while the case was in the lobby.
The public walkway is separated from the plaza by a perspex shield standing only about seven feet high.
Of the six people who walked through the walkway while the index case was in the lobby, four have been identified. Three have tested negative and one person is in the process of getting a test. Police are helping to identify the remaining two people.
The index case has been genomically linked to three other positive cases who were in a family bubble staying in the room next door at the MIQ facility in central Auckland.
