Following live as Prime Minister Jacinda Artden and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield are holding an urgent press conference at 11am.
The whole of NZ will move into the red setting of the traffic light system at 11.59pm on Sunday night, the prime minister confirms.
Watch LIVE as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield hold an urgent press conference on Omicron at 11am on Sunday.
The prime minister and director-general of health are holding an unsheduled news conference on Sunday morning about the Omicron variant.
The variant has been found in both the North Island and South Island, prompting an urgent shift into the red traffic light setting at midnight tonight.
No lockdowns are being enforced at this stage. Everyone should plan to be in the red traffic light setting "for some weeks", says Ardern.
"We are right at the beginning of this wave."
Jacinda Ardern is urging all New Zealanders to get their booster shot as soon as possible.
It's expected the coronavirus will eventually become endemic in NZ, and border changes are possible in the first half of 2022, Chris Hipkins has said.
Nine Covid-19 cases reported in Nelson/ Marlborough region have the Omicron variant. A further case has been confirmed late yesterday.
These cases are one cluster and they flew to a wedding in Auckland, says Ardern. There is an Auckland link and they also attended other events in Auckland.
The prime minister says the change to the red setting is essential to slow the spread of the virus.
"As we know from overseas, Omicron is significantly more infectious," says Ardern.
The prime minister says her message to New Zealanders is to get boosted.
"This is the one task New Zealanders need to do," says Ardern.
"We need to get our booster numbers higher, and quickly. If it's been four months since your second jab, go get your booster.
"Red is not lockdown", says Ardern. "At red, people can do most things, including travel. Hospitality businesses are open but are capped at 100 people and customers are seated. Workplaces are open, but can choose to ask their employees to work from home."
It's the Government's intention that schools will remain open and they're looking at ventilation.
"An important thing to make sure you have is a buddy - a neighbour or friend who can help deliver groceries if needed," says Ardern.
The prime minister outlined some stages and advice around what happens if people test positive.
"There is a three-step plan that's being prepared to contain the spread of the Omicron variant. We'll publish more on this soon," says Ardern.
"Stage 1 could take up to 14 days to arrive, while stage 3, the more severe stage, is when there are thousands of cases each day.
"Look after each other, and get prepared to stay at home should you need to," says Ardern.
"We've been preparing for this for two years."
Ardern also thanked New Zealanders for their mahi so far.
Dr Ashley Bloomfield says the first person in the Nelson group went and got tested, and he thanked that person for doing so.
"Testing has been fundamental in our response," says Bloomfield. "If you have any symptoms at all, wherever you are in New Zealand, please get tested."
There are five Air NZ flights that are locations of interest - these are the flights the Nelson family travelled on. There are also four other flights that the infected Air NZ staff member worked on.
There is a section 70 notice on these locations of interest, which means this is a legal requirement for New Zealanders who have been at these locations at the times the cases have been. The locations are available on the ministry's website here.
Of these flights, 150 of 192 people/ contacts have been contacted and provided with Covid-19 information.
Healthline's workforce has been increased today in anticipation of an increase in calls. Bloomfield said this is for clinical calls.
Anyone needing help or advice around the red setting can access information on the Unite website here.
"Anyone who needs medical care will be able to receive care at our hospitals," says Bloomfield. "There are good capacity levels across our hospitals."If you need care, seek it."
The red setting, which includes caps at 100 people, is designed to reduce the spread of the virus and keep New Zealanders safe.
The Ministry of Health is investigating how much spread there is of the virus.
"Again, if you have any symptoms, get tested - specifically if you live in Auckland," says Bloomfield.
"Be calm, be kind, get boosted," Ardern says. "We don't want people to experience being in hospital with the virus.Get boosted, it makes all the difference."
In regards to the Nelson family, those who were eligible were vaccinated, says Ardern.
"Please follow the public health guidance, wear a mask, get boosted, and prepare to be isolating at home should you need to."
Mask advice to be reviewed
The Prime Minister says they are going to do a quick assessment again regarding mask advice, as a result of evidence emerging overseas.
"This is also part of ongoing assessments. There will be a more formal update on this in the coming days," says Ardern.
Bloomfield says that N95 masks must be fitted properly to be effective.
The Prime Minister says that there is a good supply around masks for health staff.
"While we have low case numbers, we have the ability to try and reduce spread and stamp it out," says Ardern.
"In phase 2, there will be more cases and we'll move to a transition period which will involve people isolating."
Ardern says they want to keep driving vaccination numbers higher, including for NZ's Maori and Pacific communities.
"People who have pre-existing conditions need to be identified quickly, and this is an area we've been looking at since the emergence of Delta in NZ last year."
They will keep looking at the overseas evidence, Ardern says.
In response to a question that mentioned Australia's outbreaks, Ardern says they're not looking at closing hospitality venues in NZ at this stage.
"Under red, these venues are open, just have capacity restrictions.Scenario planning is helpful for planning purposes," says Ardern.
"Our absolute focus is on slowing the virus down. This is essential for our health system."
The red setting is expected to be in place for "some weeks".
Even if we have different views, people's well being needs to be at the heart of it all, Ardern says.
Ardern has confirmed that her wedding will not be going ahead due to the Omicron outbreak.
"Such is life," says Ardern. She says that she is no different from thousands of New Zealanders who have gone through hard times amid this pandemic.
SunLive will update further shortly with Minister of Finance Grant Robertson's update on business and jobs in relation to the shift to the red setting.
Earlier, 10.50am
Watch LIVE as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield hold an urgent press conference on Omicron at 11am on Sunday.
The prime minister and director-general of health are holding an unsheduled news conference on Sunday morning about the Omicron variant.
The conference was previously unscheduled, with media told of it soon after 9am on Sunday morning.
There have been several border-related Covid-19 cases in recent days, with several airline, airport, and MIQ workers infected.
Nine cases in Motueka have been linked to an Air NZ worker, but this had not yet been confirmed at Omicron when the Ministry of Health last updated the media.
Ardern indicated last week that Omicron community spread would likely result in the entire country being placed in the 'red” traffic light setting.
That setting is not a lockdown but would restrict large gatherings and hospitality.
Omicron is far more transmissible than the earlier Delta variant but is less likely to make people seriously ill.
The Government have said it is likely that Omicron will come into the country at some point but that the longer it can be kept out the better, as more people will be able to get a third booster shot of the Covid-19 vaccine.
As of Friday night about 21 per cent of over-12s have had their booster shot.
This week marks two years since the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Covid-19 a global emergency.
A lot has changed in that time, and there are more changes to come as the threat of the latest variant, Omicron looms. On Sunday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called an unscheduled news conference about the variant.
New Zealand successfully kept Covid under control until August last year before a Delta outbreak forced a rethink in strategy. Since then, the virus has been well suppressed.
But the coronavirus will eventually become ‘endemic' in New Zealand, and there may be ‘significant' changes to the borders in the first half of 2022, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says.
The sheer infectiousness of the Omicron variant has prompted many epidemiologists overseas to suggest endemic Covid is unavoidable. Endemic does not mean harmless, it is more akin to Covid being somewhat predictable and manageable, much like other respiratory illnesses like the flu.
Meanwhile, GPs are urging people to practically prepare for an Omicron wave, warning they won't be able to help every mild case of the virus if the health system gets overwhelmed.
On Saturday, the Ministry of Health confirmed a second Auckland Airport worker with Covid-19 had the Omicron variant. There were 41 cases of Covid-19 at the border, and 43 in the community on Saturday.
Vaccination rates
Ministry of Health data shows 96 per cent of those eligible over the age of 12 have had their first dose of the Covid vaccine, and 94 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Among Māori, 89 per cent of those eligible have had their first dose, and 84 per cent are fully vaccinated. For Pacific people, the figures are 96 per cent and 93 per cent.
Global toll
Data from Johns Hopkins University shows more than 347 million people have been infected with Sars-CoV-2, and more than 5.5million have died. Vaccination efforts are continuing with more than 9.7 billion doses administered around the world.
The United States continues to record the most cases and fatalities - more than 70 million cases and 864,934 deaths.
Anyone who wants to get tested can find their local testing centres by visiting the Ministry of Health website.
Quarantine-free travel from Australia has been suspended.
People should use the Covid-19 tracer app.
If you are sick, call your GP before you visit, or Healthline on 0800 358 5453.
To avoid contracting and spreading the virus, wash your hands properly, cough and sneeze into the crook of your elbow and throw tissues away immediately.
Reach out, find support from people who care, connect with your community or help a neighbour.
2 comments
Masks
Posted on 23-01-2022 13:41 | By Slim Shady
The evidence on the ineffectiveness of cloth masks for Omicron has been around for well over a month. Yet we saw the other day both the PM and Hipkins wearing silly cloth masks, whilst talking about reducing the spread. They are more obsessed with the border and prattling on about “seeding cases”, which is a red herring if people isolate at home. The biggest thing we can do is wear a proper mask, rather than locking people in and out and treating them like dirt. Brainless.
Phases
Posted on 23-01-2022 18:47 | By Slim Shady
Phase 1 should be called “hang on, we are now working on it after our month at the beach”. They have no plan. It’s been in for a couple of weeks already. The first thing they did was rewrite the science on the incubation period to fit their story. They stopped companies from importing RATs until recently. Now supply is a worldwide problem. Boosters could have been brought forward to three months like in other countries. It’s like the vaccine rollout all over again. They learn nothing. Contact tracing couldn’t handle 200 cases a day a couple of months ago, so will be overwhelmed in a week. Stop using the term “stamp it out” for a start. Dreamers.
2 comments
Masks
Posted on 23-01-2022 13:41 | By Slim Shady
The evidence on the ineffectiveness of cloth masks for Omicron has been around for well over a month. Yet we saw the other day both the PM and Hipkins wearing silly cloth masks, whilst talking about reducing the spread. They are more obsessed with the border and prattling on about “seeding cases”, which is a red herring if people isolate at home. The biggest thing we can do is wear a proper mask, rather than locking people in and out and treating them like dirt. Brainless.
Phases
Posted on 23-01-2022 18:47 | By Slim Shady
Phase 1 should be called “hang on, we are now working on it after our month at the beach”. They have no plan. It’s been in for a couple of weeks already. The first thing they did was rewrite the science on the incubation period to fit their story. They stopped companies from importing RATs until recently. Now supply is a worldwide problem. Boosters could have been brought forward to three months like in other countries. It’s like the vaccine rollout all over again. They learn nothing. Contact tracing couldn’t handle 200 cases a day a couple of months ago, so will be overwhelmed in a week. Stop using the term “stamp it out” for a start. Dreamers.
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