Covid-19 alert level restrictions extended across New Zealand

Covid-19 alert level restrictions across New Zealand have been extended.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Auckland will remain at level 2.5 and the rest of the country at level 2.

Cabinet will review Auckland's alert level settings on Monday 21st September.

"With a view to increase gathering limits for Auckland if we are in a similar position of containing the cluster, if the change is agreed on, it will come into effect on the 23rd of September," says Ardern.

Cabinet agreed that at 11.59pm on the 21st of September the rest of the country will be able to move to alert level one, "contingent on cases tracking as they are and maintaining the containment we have seen".

She says modelling suggests a 25 per cent chance of cases moving outside of the Auckland region, and with it, the risk of spreading the virus to the rest of the country.​

Also from Monday, physical distancing requirements on planes and public transport in Auckland will be eased. Public transport operators will no longer need to maintain any seating restrictions or passenger capacity limits.

But Ardern says: "Mask use will continue to be compulsory."

Her announcement came after one new community case of Covid-19 was reported, linked to the Auckland cluster.

The case is a female child epidemiologically linked to an existing case associated with Auckland's Botany sub-cluster.

The child has been in isolation since August 30 due to being a household contact of a confirmed case.

The new case and two additional recovered cases, bring the total number of active cases is 96.​