Any changes to alert levels to be signalled on Friday, Jacinda Ardern confirms

Any changes to alert levels will be signaled this Friday, ahead of September 6, which marks one week of Auckland sitting at Alert Level 2.5. 

The Prime Minister is set to review alert levels at the end of this week, after Auckland moved from Alert Level 3 to 2.5 at 11.59pm on Sunday, while the rest of the country remained at Level 2. 

Jacinda Ardern was asked today if Cabinet would be making decisions around alert levels during their meeting this Friday. 

"I have said that we would be making announcements in advance of the sixth of September," Ms Ardern said. 

"So we will be doing that in good time, so at the end of the week."

When asked during the 1pm briefing if a move to Level 1 after this week's review was off the cards, Health Minister Chris Hipkins said today, "No, it's just literally we haven't got to that part yet.

"The advice for those Cabinet meetings tends to come together at the last minute because we are drawing on the most recent and up to date information as we make those decisions.

"That information for those tends to be drawn together about 36 hours before that meeting takes place."

It comes after Director of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield told the Health Select Committee he had not been asked for, "nor (are) yet thinking about advice for taking Auckland or indeed the whole country down to Alert Level 1". 

On if Auckland would need to move down to Level 2 before the rest of the country could move to Level 1, Mr Hipkins said they had not made those decisions yet.

"At the moment, we're focusing on getting everything functioning at Level 2.5 in Auckland and Level 2 for the rest of the country," Mr Hipkins said. 

"We're checking in regularly to look at what further adjustments might be made to those."

On Monday, Ms Ardern was asked if Auckland would likely stay at Level 2 for longer while the rest of the country moves back to Level 1.

Ms Ardern said, "I wouldn't rule in or out any of those variations but at this stage we are being very cautious around the rest of the country as well, which is why they are in Level 2 arrangements."