A suggestion Auckland's boundary could stay closed until after Labour Weekend.

The Prime Minister has signalled even if Auckland moves down an alert level next week the region's highly likely to stay shut off from the rest of the country.

Auckland University medical Professor Des Gorman says it must change eventually. "I think the problem for the Government is knowing what the conditions are to enable it to be relaxed. So right now, given that they're not sure what that means, they're just going to say that we need to do something. And one of the things we're going to do is stop Aucklanders from moving out of Auckland."

At some point, it will be feasible to ask Aucklanders to take a test if they want to leave the region, he says.

"I think Aucklanders will find it almost intolerable to be locked up much beyond Labour Weekend, and if the price of travel is that you have to have a test and you have to be vaccinated, then so be it - that's a small price to pay."

New Zealand has 19 new Community cases today - and Henderson and Papakura are now suburbs of interest.

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