After a lack of communication on rule changes left Aucklanders waiting to move out of the city stuck between alert levels, the Government has issued an apology, of sorts.
1News revealed on Thursday that a change to restrictions means people can't move between Alert Levels 2 and 3, despite being able to do so under Level 4.
Police say they've been turning people back at the border over the past few days who thought they would be allowed to relocate.
The Ministry of Health told 1News yesterday that no exemptions are being granted to allow people to move to the regions, even if they have jobs and homes waiting.
The short notice has left some struggling, unable to move to jobs and homes they've had lined up for them in other parts of New Zealand.
National spokesperson for regional economic development Louise Upston said the decision had created undue stress for many.
"The Government have really mucked it up, they've made it incredibly confusing, and they've created a huge amount of stress for people unnecessarily."
Like many others, Luke and Kelsey Roberts found out late on Tuesday that people were no longer allowed to move from Auckland in Level 3 to those in Level 2.
Left in limbo, the family had to resort to temporary accommodation until they can move on to their new home.
"We didn't have any immediate family to stay with, so it's been a bit of a shock and a very, very distressing 72 hours," said Luke.
The rules have also changed for shared custody agreements, leaving one Cambridge mum desperately missing her eight-year-old son, who is stuck in Auckland with his dad.
"He's devastated, he goes to a beautiful little country school, there are only a hundred kids," said Marcia Hayward.
"He's got his cross country, and he's been training really hard with his dad, and he can't go to that."
Ministers will spend the weekend looking at ways to allow for more exemptions while keeping tight borders.
"If that's occurred, I'm sorry for that," Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson told 1News.
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