COVID LATEST
* Nationwide lockdown will be extended until at least next Tuesday
* Covid-19 has been detected in Wellington with three confirmed cases
* 31 cases, more than 140 locations of interest
New Zealand's level 4 lockdown has been extended nationwide until 11:59pm on Tuesday after confirmation the Covid-19 outbreak has spread to Wellington.
The government will decide on Monday - based on latest cases and information - whether to reduce levels or extend by region, the Herald understands.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield announced details of the expected lockdown extension.
Ardern said the country is in a reasonable position but that it's still early days.
"It is too soon to draw any reasonable conclusions," Ardern said
"We still need to be very vigilant."
"We are still waiting on a large number of tests to be returned which will help us know the extent of this outbreak," Ardern said.
"We do know we are dealing with an outbreak that is not isolated to Auckland, with cases in Wellington."
The infectious period of the virus still stretched back to before lockdown was imposed.
Ardern said extending the nationwide lockdown until Tuesday gave officials more time to assess the situation and be in a better position to make decisions going forward.
No part of the country could come out of level 4, Ardern said.
"It's just not safe."
"We've got to be vigilant...we are not in a position to let anyone in the country to leave level 4," she said.
The three new Wellington cases were in Auckland at the weekend and returned to the capital before lockdown began.
Two of the cases were in a household and travelled back by car. The third person flew back but flight details were yet to be released.
Bloomfield revealed that the Wellington cases were across two households - and that locations of interest included four cafes and restaurants, one pharmacy, and one medical centre.
There were also four petrol stations relating the pair who drove from Auckland to Welington.
There were hundreds of people who had been at the locations of interest outside of Auckland, Ardern said, but she didn't know specifically how many.
PM's five key messages to NZ
Ardern's message to NZ was to please check locations of interest – if you were there at the time and date get tested.
Anyone with cold and flu symptoms should get a test, she said.
If you're a contact please stay home and isolate, she urged.
"Everyone else should stay at home and stick to their bubble."
"You must wear a mask at dairies and supermarkets - and when you leave your home generally"
Wash your hands and scan in when you visit an essential service, she said.
"Even though we all want to block out the memory of 2020, we have been here before and we know the elimination strategy works."
"Everyone needs to play their part."
2000 hospital workers test negative
More than 2000 Auckland City Hospital workers had returned negative tests. An infected nurse had worked four shifts there.
The North Shore Hospital patient who tested positive was a male in his late teens, Bloomfield said.
The North Shore patient presented last Tuesday with non-Covid symptoms and was looked after in the acute surgical department, Bloomfield said.
Infected Air NZ crew member separate to cluster
Bloomfield said there are 31 current cases and that public health teams are now interviewing those infected in Auckland and Wellington.
The Air NZ cabin crew member who tested positive this week after a routine test was not linked to the 31 Auckland cases, but to three others in MIQ, he said. She was now being treated as border-related case.
Day five testing has been arranged for returnees who were in the Crowne Plaza Auckland on the same floor as the original case linked to the 31 community cases.
As of 2pm, 2363 people had been identified as contacts of this outbreak. This number excludes the central Auckland Church of Christ and Avondale College contacts.
"If you were at a location of interest then you should get a test and isolate from others," Bloomfield said.
There are a number of people turning up to GPs for vaccinations, Bloomfield said, but he urged people to call ahead.
People planning to bring children with them to get vaccinated were asked to phone ahead as many sites had limited space.
Cabinet met today to make a decision on whether to extend the three-day level 4 lockdown the country plunged into at midnight on Tuesday.
Ardern said, on Tuesday, it was likely Auckland and the Coromandel, the areas where the first confirmed case had been, would be in level 4 for at least seven days.
Eleven new Covid cases, including three in Wellington, were announced this afternoon in a statement released by the Ministry of Health.
The three in Wellington had recently travelled to Auckland and visited a location of interest there.
The remaining eight were detected in Auckland.
Nineteen cases are now confirmed as part of the Auckland outbreak, with the remaining 12 under investigation to confirm the linkage to the outbreak. Initial assessment shows in most cases there is a plausible link, the statement said.
Of the 11 new community cases reported today, one person is in a family bubble with a case reported yesterday, two are in a family bubbles with a case reported on Wednesday and two of the cases we are reporting today are also in a family bubble together.
Public health officials were conducting interviews to establish how the new cases were infected and to determine further details of their movements.
The international Air New Zealand crew member, reported yesterday, has now been confirmed as a border-related case, and not linked to the Auckland outbreak, based on the results of whole genome sequencing.
All cases have or are being transferred safely to a managed isolation facility, under strict infection prevention and control procedures, including the use of full PPE.
Testing centres in Auckland had their busiest day ever yesterday, by more than 50 per cent.
More than 24,000 community tests were performed across the city, with more than 8000 at community testing centres and around 16,000 at general practice and urgent care clinics.
The Ministry thanked for their patience at sites while there was high demand and for complying with lockdown restrictions.
The Ministry also thanked testing staff for stepping up again and working at pace at the frontline of the COVID-19 response, in high-stress environments while making personal sacrifices to keep our communities safe.
There are 13 community testing centres available for testing across Auckland today, including seven pop-up community testing centres at Narrow Neck, St Lukes, Wairau Valley, St Johns, Albany, Mângere East, and Pakuranga Heights.
There is additional dedicated testing for Avondale College staff, students and whânau, who are considered to be close contacts.
Additionally, about 2600 swabs have been taken onsite from Auckland City Hospital staff, following news a nurse was at work while potentially infectious, and all have been negative so far.
All community testing centres in Auckland are continuing to operate extended hours and many will remain open until 8pm today.
In Wellington, Covid testing is underway, with a range of sites already in place and are additional testing capacity available if needed.
Pop-up testing sites remain open in Coromandel Township, Thames, and Hamilton.
Yesterday, Waikato DHB's laboratory processed 2,590 tests and all returned a negative result.
Further locations, including in rural areas, are being considered to expand the geographical spread of testing to help determine whether there has been any undetected transmission to date.
Covid-19 was detected in wastewater samples collected on Wednesday from the Waitakere area in Auckland. This follows detection in the sample from Tuesday.
There have been no unexpected detections to report outside the Auckland region.
