New Zealand's Covid-19 lockdown extended as outbreak tops 100 cases

There are more than 320 locations of interest linked to the outbreak and 13,000 contacts have been recorded, far more than in previous outbreaks.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern walks to the Covid-19 update press conference in Wellington, New Zealand, last Friday. New Zealand's first virus outbreak in six months has spread from the largest city of Auckland to the capital, Wellington. Picture: Mark Mitchell Pool photo via AP

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday extended the country's strict nationwide Covid-19 lockdown saying the current outbreak of the Delta variant of the coronavirus had not yet peaked.

The level 4 national lockdown was extended by three days until midnight on August 27 while Auckland, the epicentre of the outbreak, will have restrictions in place at least until August 31.