The Ministry of Health has this afternoon been notified of a positive case of COVID-19 in the community and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced the nation will move to Alert Level 2, while Auckland will move to Alert Level 3, effective 6am Sunday morning. 

The alert levels will remain in place for a week. 

The case, known as Case M, is an older sibling of a Papatoetoe High School student who was a casual plus contact. The student had returned 3 recent negative tests and is asymptomatic.

The latest case developed symptoms on Tuesday.

"As a result, the person is regarded as being potentially infectious from Sunday 21 February,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says.

Public health officials are undertaking interviews to help establish how this new case was infected.

Testing of the household of five is underway. Test results for the other family members are expected this evening.

Genome sequencing is currently underway and is expected later this evening and will provide us with more information.

Case M developed symptoms on Tuesday 23 February. As a result, the person is regarded as being potentially infectious from Sunday 21 February.

The person was tested yesterday (Friday 26 February) and the result was received this afternoon.

There are a number of locations of interest, details of which will be available on the Ministry’s website and will be updated progressively from this evening.

The Ministry’s website will also include advice on what to do if you were at any of these locations at the time when you could potentially have been exposed.

Please only call Healthline if you were potentially exposed.

For up-to-date information on testing locations in Auckland, visit https://www.arphs.health.nz/ and all testing locations nationwide, visit the Healthpoint website.

Cabinet met this afternoon after the new case was detected, the prime minister says.

That person had been to a number of "well-populated sites".

The prime minister says the rules have not always been followed.

"People who should have been in isolation, weren't."

She said humans make mistakes and NZ won't succeed if "we turn on one another"

She reminded New Zealand that she was not asking any more than was necessary to keep others safe.

"Please follow the rules, on behalf of everyone."

She said New Zealand was "very close to being in a more certain future" as the country waits for vaccines.

She called on New Zealanders to just hang in for a little longer.