Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced New Zealand will head into an Alert Level 4 lockdown after a case of Covid-19 was detected in the community.
The lockdown will come into effect as of 11:59 pm Tuesday for seven days in Auckland and Coromandel, and three days for the rest of the country.
"Delta has been called a game changer and it is, it means that we again need to go hard and early to stop the spread," she said.
New Zealanders who are in locations where they don't normally reside have been given a window of two days to move home under Alert Level 4.
“We want people to move to where they need to be but we’re cutting it off at 48 hours for that movement.”
Genome sequencing of the community case, a man in his 50s from Devonport on Auckland's North Shore, is expected in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Waste water testing from the area is also being analysed by health officials, in the hope of providing a greater understanding of the outbreak.
"Identifying the source of this case will give us much more information around the risk for New Zealand," said Ardern.
Genome sequencing will be returned tomorrow, the PM says.
Reflecting on how quickly Delta outbreaks have spun out of control overseas, she stated the country "only gets one chance" to stamp out the virus.
"We have made the decision on the basis that it is better to start high and go down levels rather than to go low, not contain the virus and see it move quickly."
Under Alert Level 4, people are asked to stay home and limit their movement unless they are essential workers.
Covid-19 vaccinations are also being suspended for the next 48 hours until the Government is assured it can be done so safely.
"I’m asking the team of 5 million to unite once more to defeat what is likely the more transmissible and deadly variant of the virus.
"Remember to always act like you have Covid-19, stay clear of others; don't put them in harm's way in the same way you would expect that they don't put you in harm's way."
No gatherings are allowed and all public venues, as well as schools, will be made to close.
Businesses like pharmacies, clinics and petrol stations can stay open while all non-essential places must close.
Ardern says financial support will become available for businesses affected.
With roughly 40 per cent of the country's eligible population at least partially vaccinated against the virus, Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield says Kiwis can't afford to be complacent.
While being vaccinated against the virus can limit the chance of hospitalisation and death, it doesn't mean that people can't catch or spread Covid-19.
"Even with high vaccination rates we would still need a number of public health measures in place," he told media.
Ardern said that while getting vaccinated does make a difference, it's "not the entire answer" to stopping outbreaks.
"Actually complying with those rules and doing everything we can to stamp it our remains the best strategy."
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