Monday 11 October, 4pm

Auckland will stay at Alert Level 3 with current restrictions for a week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced at the 4pm press conference today.

Cabinet will review restrictions for Auckland again next Monday 18th October.

Both Waikato and Northland will remain at Alert Level 3 until 11:59pm Thursday 14th October. Cabinet will review this decision on Wednesday.

Schools in regions under Level 3 will not reopen next week when Term 4 begins. Instead, distance learning will continue on 18th October. There will be a further update on this next week.

“The current state of the outbreak heightens the need for robust safety measures to be in place before schools can open,” said Ardern.

Vaccinations

Vaccinations will be mandatory for large numbers of people in the health and education workforce, said Ardern. This was decided by Cabinet today.

High-risk workers in the health and disability sector will need to be fully vaccinated by 1st December, 2021. They’ll need to receive their first dose by 30th October. This group includes GPs, pharmacists, nurses, paramedics and midwives.

School and early learning staff, and support people who work with them, will need to be fully vaccinated by 1st January, 2022. They’ll need to receive their first dose by 15th November.

These measures are in addition to Super Saturday, a nationwide push to lift vaccination rates this Saturday 19th October. People who have not yet been vaccinated are encouraged to get their first dose this Saturday.

People who have not yet gotten their second dose, and received their first dose more than three weeks ago, are also encouraged to get vaccinated this Saturday.

Monday 11 October, 1pm

There are 35 new cases today, all in the Auckland region.

Of the new cases, 14 have been linked to existing cases and 21 remain under investigation.

The previously reported Bay of Plenty case has returned a negative result after a follow-up test. The case remains under investigation, but the public health risk is considered low due to their vaccination status, regular use of the Covid Tracer app, and rapid communication with their close contacts.

The Prime Minister and Director-General of Health will give a further update at 4pm today. They’re expected to cover alert levels and vaccine mandates. We’ll update this page as that information comes.