On November 1, 2021, the Cabinet decided in principle to upgrade Auckland to Level 3, or Level 2, starting at 11:59 PM next Tuesday. Waikato will also see that the restrictions will be relaxed to the second step starting at 11:59 pm tomorrow night.

Senior Political Correspondent, New Zealand Herald

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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that according to the latest model, there may be 200 cases of new coronary pneumonia every day in November.

The Cabinet today will review the alert level settings in Auckland and Waikato, both of which are focused on getting rid of strict lockdown restrictions. An organization said this has cost Auckland consumers nearly $1 billion in losses.

Ardern declined to discuss what the cabinet will decide on the alert levels in Auckland and Waikato later today. But she said that she will share the latest model expectations at a post-cabinet press conference.

Ardern told The AM Show that the number of daily cases this month could reach 200.

However, as the vaccination rate increases, it is estimated that this is a peak.

When asked about Freedom Day, she said they need people to be vaccinated.

"People shouldn't just wait for a date."

Experts warned the government to stay the course today, saying that any further relaxation of restrictions could lead to a surge in the number of cases, and hospitals are crowded with patients with the new coronavirus.

Auckland and Waikato are both at level 3 alert. The first step-basically a level 3 lockdown, removes some restrictions on outdoor gatherings.

Ardern said that the cabinet will consider "stepping down" and the next step is to open up retail.

"Basically these are our considerations. Do we believe that what is happening now is predictable." She said that the current increase in the number of cases is quite predictable. In terms of reaching the 90% vaccination target, Auckland is doing very well.

When asked if she planned to visit Auckland, Ardern stated that this would have an impact on the government's response to Covid, as she would have to be quarantined in Wellington.

"If I go to Auckland, I will have no activity for five days."

Looking back at the death of Mrs. Catherine Tizard, Ardern said that she was an amazing person and an important role model for women in politics and leadership. "She is a witty and intelligent person, willing to share her time and knowledge with others."

This morning, it was revealed that the new crown virus has spread to the small town of Ngāruawāhia in Waikato.

The Nga-Miro Health Center confirmed the case on social media last night. The test station has been set up at the Ngāruawāhia Panthers Rugby League venue on Whatawhata Ave in Ngāruawāhia and will open at 10 am today.

The post said: "If they have not protected them and their families, we recommend that they get tested and vaccinated."

"We also encourage whānau to restrict their movements and stay at home to contain the spread in our community. If you need to leave your home, please stay vigilant and wear a mask."

The locations of interest will be announced in the next few days. It is understood that this person is the contact person in the Hamilton case.

Today’s decision to lift the restriction will be made in the context of the high number of community cases over the weekend, including a daily record of 160 new cases reported on Saturday.

There were 143 new cases on Sunday, bringing the total over the weekend to 303.

Thousands of protesters were also seen taking to the streets of Oakland over the weekend to oppose the continued lockdown and vaccination requirements.

Listen to the live broadcast of NEWSTALK ZB: * 7.10am: Danny Altman, Professor of Immunology at Imperial College London, about the new Covid variant Delta Plus

Te Pūnaha Matatini modeler Shaun Hendy urged caution, saying that the current reproduction rate of the virus-the "R rate"-is still higher than 1, which means that the epidemic is still growing.

"Despite the increase in the number of vaccinations, we will continue to see an increase in cases," Hendy said.

"In fact, the government's approach is to weigh any benefits that vaccination brings to us, and at the same time relax restrictions.

"Before we start to see the real pressure on the hospital system and the need to classify cases, it can only play this game."

Hendy told TVNZ's breakfast program that he said we still have "a few weeks" in which the number of community cases will rise.

"This is very worrying," he said of the Covid community cases that are increasing every day. Hendy said that if we have as many as 200 to 300 cases, it will put a lot of pressure on Oakland's health system.

"I don't think we can relax...until we start to see these numbers drop," he said when asked about the possible drop in Auckland from the current level 3 alert level. Hendy went on to explain that the current circuit breaker will indeed reduce the number of unlinked community cases.

This, and Auckland's possible 90% first-dose vaccination rate soon, will really help solve the problem.

Hendy admitted that the Covid situation in Christchurch seems to be under control at this stage.

However, a person in Garden City then tested positive on arrival in Tonga, which means that health officials still need to be alert to the possible locations of other potential cases in Christchurch.

Epidemiologist Michael Baker said that the large number of cases is not surprising.

"Under current restrictions, [cases] are growing exponentially, but fortunately, this is a very shallow curve," Baker said, warning that "it's hard to imagine any reason to lower the alert level in Oakland."

He said that what needs to be paid attention to in the next few days is whether the increasing number of cases is putting pressure on the hospital system.

The Auckland business association Heart of the City stated that the city “is expected to cost consumers $1 billion [compared to 2019]” until vaccination levels are high enough to transfer to the new traffic light system.

CEO Viv Beck said, "People are increasingly feeling desperate and calling for those who are allowed to get vaccinated to make a living before it's too late."

On Sunday, the National Party increased its criticism of the government’s handling of the latest outbreak, saying it now hopes to establish a complete Royal Commission of Investigation to investigate the government’s preparations for the delta outbreak.

Leader Judith Collins said that the government does not seem to have a plan for the delta, which makes people vulnerable.

"When the delta struck, less than 20% of our population was vaccinated.

"It is now clear that the government is'going all out' to implement a phase-out strategy and believes that it can defeat Delta Air Lines.

Collins said: “While other countries are vaccinating as soon as possible and investing in contact tracing, launching saliva testing and using rapid antigen testing, New Zealand is following a playbook that is effective in 2020.”

The government also faces questions about two Covid-positive people who absconded from the Jet Park quarantine facility on Saturday but were still not found last night.

Auckland remains the epicenter of the outbreak, although Waikato reported 13 cases over the weekend and the Northland reported 3 cases.

Of the cases reported in the past two weeks, 384 have not yet established contact, indicating widespread community transmission.

On Sunday, Covid was detected in the wastewater of Huntly in Waikato. There are currently no known cases there, which indicates that an unknown epidemic has broken out.

As of Sunday, 56 people had been hospitalized due to Covid-19, up from 47 the day before-two of them were in the intensive care unit.

At the same time, eight residents and one staff member of the Edmonton Meadows Nursing Home in Henderson tested positive for the virus, and officials are still working to confirm the source of the infection. Two of the residents have been transferred to the hospital for treatment.

The launch of vaccination has brought some more positive news. Approximately 82,000 vaccinations were reported on Saturday and Sunday (including vaccinations on Friday and Saturday).

Every day, nearly 10,000 of these vaccines are the first dose—helping DHB move towards the goal of fully vaccinating 90% of the eligible population.

As of Sunday, four regional health bureaus-Waitemata, Auckland, Capital and Coast and Canterbury-have given 90% of eligible population at least one vaccination. The remaining 16 are behind.

The two slowest is Tairawhiti, which only vaccinates 78% of the eligible population, while Northland’s vaccination rate is 79%.

At the current rate, it will take at least two months for the government to achieve the goal of vaccinating 90% of all DHB.

Once that goal is reached, the entire country will switch to the government's new Covid system for traffic lights, which will provide greater freedom.

However, it is expected that Auckland will take action sooner, and experts predict that all three DHBs in the region will reach a dual vaccination rate of 90% by early December. The slowest of the three is Counties Manukau, now the first hit rate is 89%, only more than 5000 hits can reach 90%.

The government has stated that it will review the progress of all DHBs in achieving the 90% target on November 29.

If many DHB still cannot fully vaccinate 90% of the eligible population, it is unclear what the government will do on that day.