There is still a risk of spread of Covid-19 to other parts of the country, which is a good reason to maintain the rest of the country on alert level 2, the prime minister says.
At today's regular media conference, Jacinda Ardern said the alert levels would remain the same for more than another week, with Cabinet meeting on 14 September to decide on the next move.
If Cabinet decided to drop the alert levels then, it would take effect from 11.59pm on Wednesday 16 September, Ardern said.
Auckland is currently at alert level 2.5. Aucklanders can travel outside the region, though social gatherings are limited to no more than 10 people, with 50 allowed for authorised funerals and tangihanga. The rest of the country is at level 2.
Ardern said the reason why the rest of New Zealand had to remain in the current alert level settings was because early modelling suggested that even if cases had stopped appearing days ago, there was still a chance of spread outside of Auckland.
"If that does happen, level 2 settings lessen the impact of any spread and avoids any further fallout."
Ardern pointed out Tokoroa as an example, where there were cases but level 2 settings helped to contain them.
See how the rest of the day unfolded with RNZ's live blog:
