Christchurch locals are on high alert after two new cases were reported on Friday.
The new cases are close contacts of two initial cases announced on Thursday. They are from a single household.
And locals are turning out in droves to get tested as a result.
"I'm as crook as a dog mate, you know just got to get tested. No taste and no smell is the worst one. So oh well probably got it but who knows," one person said.
"I've already been vaccinated twice and I'm just playing it safe," another person said.
"A few of the family have got symptoms so we're just coming to get tested to just be on the safe side," another local commented.
The bump in cases has also pushed the vaccination rate up. Canterbury District Health Board is the fourth in the country to hit the magic 90 percent mark for first doses. Seventy-one percent have had their second.
Waitemata, Auckland and Capital and Coast have also reached 90 percent first dose,
More than 7500 Cantabrians rolled up their sleeves for their second dose on Thursday.
Pharmacist Ed Dawwas says demand has jumped significantly since news COVID had made it to the garden city.
"So we were doing about I'd say 80 a day, and we're now doing over 160 a day and so it's a pretty good increase and it all came all of a sudden."
And broadcaster Simon Barnett decided to join the action on Friday, getting his second jab.
"I was pretty nervous, I hate needles but honestly it was painless yeah no and I'm pleased to have it done now," Barnett said.
But, despite the positive effect of vaccinations - one expert modeller says we should be prepared for more bad news.
Professor Michael Plank from the University of Canterbury says if there is widespread transmission an alert level shift may be necessary.
"Certainly we have to be prepared for that and keep a very close eye on things because if it turns out that the virus has spread more widely then it could be that we do need an increase in the alert level in Christchurch.
"The fact that the virus has been here for two weeks now means that it has the potential to have spread to a significant number of people already.
"The big question now is whether these two new cases have had lots of contact in the community? When was their infectious period? How long ago was it? Because those questions will determine the risk that the virus might have spread more widely."
A nervous wait for many in Christchurch.
