Police have confirmed they've seen a second letter which states last week's claims of the release of foot and mouth virus were a hoax.

The letter was sent to the Dominion Post newspaper in Wellington.

Police are still examining the letter, but believe there are strong similarities between the new letter and the one sent to Prime Minister Helen Clark last week.

MAF says the new information backs up their extensive investigations on Waiheke Island which have found no evidence of foot and mouth disease over the past week.

Legal restrictions covering the movement of animals and certain goods off Waiheke Island were due to be lifted late this afternoon however low level monitoring will continue for another week.