It's decision day, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to announce whether the current Covid-19 alert levels will extend past Wednesday.
It comes as some Auckland businesses forced to close under Alert Level 3 call for the city to move our of lockdown so that businesses can prepare for Thursday trading.
Auckland has been in Alert Level 3, and the rest of the country in Level 2, since midday August 12.
However, experts say low Covid-19 case numbers are needed before alert levels can be changed.
Professor Michael Baker wants to take a “cautious approach” to the latest outbreak.
"We need to see several days, preferably a week of very low numbers, like noughts and ones, and then we can be feeling fairly certain that transmission has been brought to a halt with this outbreak," Epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker says.
The decision on alert levels comes as there was one new Covid-19 case linked to the Auckland cluster yesterday. There were also two other positive cases in returnees from overseas - they are both in managed isolation.
About 150 people gathered at Aotea Square this afternoon to protest against the Government’s lockdown.
New Zealand has 114 active cases of Covid-19, nine of which are in hospital. Six people are in a stable condition, while the other three are in intensive care at Auckland's Middlemore Hospital.
Any changes to the alert levels will take effect from midnight Wednesday at the earliest.
The Prime Minster is expected to give her decision in a press conference this afternoon. This will be livestreamed on 1news.co.nz and Facebook and broadcast on TVNZ1 from 3pm.
Covid-19 modeler Shaun Hendy told 1 NEWS people should be prepared for the possibility.
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