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More locations of interest have been released by the Ministry of Health early this afternoon.

There are now 421 locations - including more supermarkets, bottle shops and a Bunnings store.

As of 12.10pm, the new locations added are:

• Pak'nSave Sylvia Park
  • Maskell Street Liquor store
  • Upland Liquor Spot
  • Subway 25 on Symonds St, downtown Auckland
  • Crystal Laundromat in New Lynn
  • Mobil Clearview on Saint Heliers Bay Road in Kohimarama
  • Upland Liquor Spot in Remuera
  • Van Lam Takeaway on Penrose Road, Mt Wellington
  • The Village Dairy on Remuera Rd, Remuera
  • Meadowbank Roast on Saint Johns Road in Meadowbank
  • Bunnings Warehouse on Carr Road, Mt Roskill
  • Crave Cafe on Morningside Drive
  • Wiri Timber on Frost Road, Mt Roskill
  • Pak'nSave Royal Oak on Manukau Road, Royal Oak

The Upland Liquor Spot shop is featured three times on the locations of interest page - with a positive case visiting on Saturday August 14, Monday August 16 and Tuesday August 17.

Crave Cafe in Morningside - a favourite of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's - is also on the list. The business was visited by an infected person for two hours on Sunday, August 15 between 9.30am and 11.30am.

The same cafe was also listed as a location of interest when the country was in lockdown this time last year.

MIQ worker has Covid

Meanwhile a worker at an Auckland MIQ facility has tested positive for Covid.

The facility is the Novotel Ellerslie managed isolation centre.

Residents were told in a letter that the staffer had previously visited a location of interest. They had been self-isolating since and were tested on August 20.

An investigation has now begun to work out how the staff member caught the virus and if it was transmitted to anyone else. Genome sequencing will be carried out to help with this, according to Newshub.

Close contacts among staff members and those outside the facility are now being established through an interview with the person.

Joint MIQ head Brigadier Rose King reassured guests in the letter that there were "robust processes in place to respond to these kinds of events".

There would be no changes for guests who would remain in managed isolation as before and continue to get their required Covid-19 checks.

PM: Expect cases to continue rising

Earlier today Prime Minister Ardern is warning to expect the number of Covid cases to rise again today as the highly contagious Delta variant continues to spread through households and the community.

There are currently more than 400+ locations of interest, with the latest Auckland locations including supermarkets, takeaway outlets, the Auckland Art Gallery and now a new school: Green Bay High.

Other new locations revealed today include the Therese Catholic Church in Māngere East,
The Warehouse at West City Waitakere and several more bus routes.

Meanwhile a lecturer at Victoria University in Wellington has also tested positive but students have been reassured the university was not a location of interest due to the person not working at the time they were considered contagious.

Meanwhile, the Government is still investigating how the original transmission occurred from the New South Wales returnee who was staying in MIQ at the Crowne Plaza.

Ardern told RNZ they were still working through "some theories" regarding whether or not a Covid outbreak happened at a walkway at the Crowne Plaza.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson told MPs today that the economy is well-positioned to deal with the Delta outbreak.

So far 127,935 businesses have had wage subsidy applications approved, which has seen $484.4 million already paid out to businesses.