Arden said level three restrictions will require everyone to stay at home except for essential shopping on essential work.

Three days, though, should give us enough time to get a further information, undertake large scale testing and establish if there has been wider community transmission.

That is what we believe the cautious approach requires and is the right thing to do. She went on to tell the news conference in Wellington quote.

We've stamped out this virus before and we will do it again.

Sunday's cases were traced back to a couple and their daughter in Auckland.

Health authorities are trying to find out whether they involve any of the new, highly infectious variants that have been found in other countries, including the UK in South Africa.

The COVID-19 alert for the rest of New Zealand was raised to level two, with all gatherings limited to 100 people, including at restaurants and cafes.