Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield have announced 19 new cases of COVID-19 in the community today, bringing the total for the outbreak to 1249.
Some 18 are in Tāmaki and 1 is in Northern Hauraki.
The Northern Hauraki case (a student from Mangatangi School) was already in isolation following the recent outbreak triggered by a Tāmaki prisoner remanded to the rohe.
Among today's cases is a MIQ worker from the Naumi hotel. Officials are investigating if the worker caught the virus at the facility, or as part of the greater Tāmaki cluster.
Three of today's cases are so-called 'mystery cases', with officials yet to establish an epidemiological link to the broader outbreak.
There are 18 cases in hospital, eight each in Auckland and Middlemore, the remaining two in North Shore Hospital. Four people are in ICU or high dependency units.
Bloomfield says officials expect as many as 30 cases in the next few days as 19 of the new cases are linked to an outbreak within emergency or transitional housing.
Ōtara has been dropped from the suburb hot spots, while Henderson and Papakura have been added. Bloomfield appealed to everyone within the suburbs of interest to get tested even if not symptomatic.
He says a testing and vaccination centre is being established outside the Bunnings and Mitre 10 stores in Manukau.
Nationwide, anyone symptomatic should be tested, he said.
The Prime Minister provided clarity on the Tāmaki border should Auckland drop to Alert level two following cabinet deliberations on Monday.
Ardern said the border would stay.
The PM reiterated an appeal for all Aucklanders to be vaccinated, saying just 3 per cent of people involved in the current outbreak have been double vaccinated.
While 92 per cent of over-65s had been vaccinated, according to the PM, she again laid down the 90 per cent target for the entire population.
"It is possible to hit 90, and we need everybody to put that effort in," she said.
Bloomfield says there are 6 new cases of COVID-19 at the border today.
Today's news comes on the back of an unexpected spike of 45 community cases in Tāmaki yesterday.
In a radio interview this morning, Covid-19 response minister Chris Hipkins said the government wasn't waving the white flag on its Covid-19 elimination strategy just yet.
They still wanted to get 'down to zero' cases he said.