There are two new cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand today. The numbers come as PM Jacinda Ardern thanked Aucklanders, who come out of lockdown tonight - but also urged them to "keep going" and do their part to keep the virus contained.
Auckland is this morning adjusting to a "new new normal" - level 2.5 living - as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern apologises for a wrong message which urged all 750,000 south and west Aucklanders to get a Covid test.
She told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking today she was "angry, frustrated... a range of emotions" after a social media post - on Facebook and Instagram - from the official all-of-Government Covid-response page said residents needed to get a test, even if they did not have symptoms.
"It was a mistake, I fully acknowledge that," Ardern told Hosking.
She said the message - which she had learned about at 10am yesterday morning - had led to people lining up at testing stations yesterday, unnecessarily.
"The issue here is that in simplifying some of the messages they have shared incorrect messages. No excuse for that. It caused anxiety for people and for that I apologise. No one wants to see people afraid. No one wanted to see people unnecessarily lining up."
She said she would be taking time to find out what happened. "It feels to me a little bit at the moment that I don't think we can place blame on any one person's shoulders. It's a series of errors have been made here."
She said she had raised it immediately with those who had the ability to remove it from the social media platforms - even though the message was still up on Instagram as she spoke at the 1pm press conference yesterday.
"If we wanted over 700,000 people to get a test we wouldn't just leave it to an Instagram or Twitter post. That would be something we would be sharing openly from the podium."
The apology comes as Auckland is this morning out of lockdown and into another "new normal" - with roadblocks lifted and masks donned for public transport commuters and many workers.
But concerns still remain as the cluster that plunged the city into level 3 continues to grow.
Ardern warned that she expected the Auckland cluster to get larger and that the tail of new cases "will be long".
Instead of moving Auckland straight from level 3 to level 2, Ardern announced Auckland would be in a state she described as "level 2.5".
This is being welcomed by epidemiologist Michael Baker, who said it was a "good move", given the fact the cluster will continue to grow.
But he warned that there was some level of uncertainty as to whether level 2.5 would be enough to contain this outbreak.
Despite this, the move out of lockdown will come as welcome news to many Aucklanders, businesses in particular, who have been in level 3 for close to 20 days.
However, moving out of lockdown also comes with a level of uncertainty and some apprehension, especially from parents sending children back to school and daycare.
This is because there is still community transmission of Covid-19 in the city and Ardern is warning that new cases will continue to be reported.
"I cannot stress how important this is," she said.
"Much of this cluster has stemmed from social gatherings. If we want to stop the spread, we have to stop socialising for a time.
"I know that these new normals will take a little while to get used to, but these are measures that are in place for a good reason."
Ardern used this same phrase when New Zealand first moved to level 4 lockdown in late March.
Yesterday, she said the level 2 systems were designed to be effective while officials work to stamp out a Covid cluster.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks to a lab technician during a visit to the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research at Victoria University. Photo / Getty Images
