 A Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has extended New Zealand-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 3 days until midnight on August 27, while Auckland, the epicentre of the outbreak, will have restrictions in place at least until August 31. Ardern said contact in the community by people infected with the Delta variant were reported all over the country. There are more than 320 locations of interest linked to the outbreak, and for 10,000 contact have been recorded far more than in previous outbreaks. Level 4 is important for all of us, is because we don't yet believe we've reached the peak of this outbreak, or necessarily the edges of it. Your call that we pointed to early modelling suggested we needed 8 to 10 days before we would hit a peak. We're on roughly day 7, so cases may continue to get worse before they get better, and I know we're all prepared for that. That does mean, though, that the safest option for all of us right now is to hold the course for longer. On that basis, Cabinet has decided that all of New Zealand will remain at Level 4 for an additional 4 days until 11.59pm, Friday, 27 August.