It was miserable weather across the motu for the first day of level 2 - for those outside Auckland. With 15 new cases today, the source of the outbreak remains unknown.

Te Pūnaha Matatini Covid-19 data modelling expert Shaun Hendy says alert level 4 in Auckland is working nearly as well against Delta as lockdown as it did last year.

As health authorities scramble to investigate a mystery Covid-19 infection at Middlemore Hospital the management of the case has been slated as a failure and a mess by unions and opposition parties.

The Alexandra community is devastated their annual blossom festival has been called off as it entered its 65th year.

The arrival of hundreds of seasonal workers from other countries and dozens of fishery workers has been deferred, to make more space in MIQ.

The South Island has been hit by a cold blast - bringing snow to parts of the lower South Island and Canterbury.

Kiwi bank and ANZ along with New Zealand Post, Inland Revenue and Metservice all experienced blacks-out due to a cyber-attack earlier today.

Analysis - While we're all rightly focused on the COVID-19 pandemic at the moment, the SARS-CoV-2 virus isn't the only microbial threat we face, Dr Siouxsie Wiles writes.

There are 15 new community cases of Covid-19 in the country, all in Auckland, Director General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield has revealed.

The source of the current community outbreak is still a mystery after an investigation found it was "highly unlikely" that transmission occurred through the Crowne Plaza's public atrium, says the Covid-19 Response Minister.

Experts say the government needs to prioritise more funding and health resources for South Auckland, which will remain New Zealand's ongoing front line in the battle against Covid-19.

Truck drivers and other essential workers crossing Auckland's boundary are preparing to get nasal swabs once a week, as saliva tests aren't yet available for non-border workers.

Final year Otago medical students analysed data from 4200 visits at 64 locations around Dunedin between 18 July and 1 August and found people were only scanning in nine percent of the time.

Complaints to the Ombudsman about access to official information have increased in the past 12 months.

The case of the Covid-19 positive patient at Middlemore Hospital shows how health boards have failed to prepare for infection, the Nurses Union says. See how all the day's Covid-19 news developed with RNZ's blog.

A group of female university students were walking along Cumberland Street when they were attacked by a group of up to six youth offenders, police said.

Two people have been critically injured in a two-vehicle collision in Auckland.

Websites for some government agencies and banks have gone offline or experienced disruption in what appear to be cyber attacks.