Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says if the country had not moved into lockdown, daily case numbers could have been around 550.

A Pacific community worker says the Bay of Plenty DHB's apology for requesting passports before vaccination is 'passive-aggressive' and racist. The MP for Pacific Peoples said it never should have happened.

Teachers in areas caught up in the latest Covid-19 outbreak say whānau are struggling to afford enough food.

The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists is calling on the government to urgently address immigration difficulties for doctors and other health workers, describing the system as shambolic.

Police say they are pleased with the public's overall compliance with level 4 restrictions over the weekend but have discovered people hunting, on their way to buy a puppy, trying to get 'better quality meat' and more.

There are 53 new Covid-19 cases in the community today as Cabinet meets to decide the next steps for Auckland and Northland.

Hapū from northern Ngāti Porou have set up a fixed road checkpoint at Te Araroa after authorities refused to do so.

Fewer than 400 out of a 1000 trucks have registered to get their dodgy handbrakes fixed.

Auckland will be in lockdown for at least two more weeks but there's hope Northland may join the rest of the country in level 3 from midnight Thursday. See how the day's Covid-19 news developed with RNZ's liveblog.

Police have made a number of arrests in Waikato after uncovering firearms, cash and drugs as officers carried out lockdown compliance vehicle stops.

The Covid-19 Vaccine Independent Safety Monitoring Board believes a woman's death may have been caused by myocarditis, a rare side effect of the Pfizer vaccine.

Associate Minister of Health Ayesha Verrall says it is "unacceptable" that members of the Pasifika community were asked for passports at Covid-19 vaccination appointments in the Bay of Plenty.

New Zealand should be aiming to vaccinate 90 percent of the eligible population if society is to cope with the Delta variant, a leading epidemiologist says.

Dunedin police are reminding people a lack of preferred chips at the local supermarket is not a reason to travel outside your neighbourhood, as dozens flouted lockdown rules over the weekend.

Auckland Council was expected to receive a review into contamination near the Harbour Bridge today.

Last week, it decided Te Tai Tokerau would be kept at alert level 4 with Tāmaki Makaurau when restrictions ease for most of the country at midnight tomorrow.

A search is underway for a person believed to be in trouble in the water at Groin Point in Haumoana, Hawke's Bay.

New cases of Covid-19 appear to be plateauing and that's something to take encouragement from, Covid-19 modeller Professor Michael Plank says.