The Government has released new boundary maps showing the areas of the country in lockdown after the northern part of Te Tai Tokerau was plunged into alert level 3 overnight.
Officials were unable to link two cases of COVID-19 in the Far North to other community infections in Northland, prompting COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins on Tuesday night to call an impromptu press conference where he announced the shift.
It comes as parts of Waikato under alert level 3 see restrictions ease, allowing retail stores to open their doors again and gatherings to expand to 25 people.
Auckland is also in alert level 3 restrictions but will be moving to step 2 of the Government's roadmap next Wednesday.
The new map shows Te Tai Tokerau's lockdown starts at Rangiora and curves east to Mangamuka before continuing across the country cutting off at Tauranga Bay. The boundary line towards the west cuts off above Pakanae.
Auckland's boundary line starts north of Wellsford and covers the entire city before meeting with Waikato's boundary just after Pokeno.
Waikato's boundary covers Raglan, Te Awamutu, Hamilton, Cambridge and all the way south to Tapuwae.
There were 126 new cases of COVID-19 reported on Tuesday with 107 in Auckland, 18 in Waikato and one in Northland.
The rest of the country is in alert level 2.
