There are 24 new community cases of Covid-19 in the community, and 47 new cases in managed isolation and quarantine facilities, health officials say.
Photo: 123rf.com
The Ministry of Health released the information this afternoon, following the earlier government media briefing when Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that the whole country would be moving into the red traffic light setting at 11.59pm tonight.
Today's new community cases are in Northland (2), Auckland (16), Waikato (1) and the Rotorua district (5).
The nine cases which were reported in the Nelson/Tasman district have now been confirmed as the Omicron variant, and a further case from the same household was confirmed late yesterday.
These cases are in a single family who flew to Auckland on 13 January to attend a family event and other events on the weekend of 15 and 16 January and initial estimates suggest there were at least 100 people at these events.
This cluster has already led to an additional infection of a fully vaccinated Air New Zealand flight attendant who was infected on flight 5083 on 16 January from Auckland to Nelson which the family was on. That flight attendant has worked four additional flights while infectious.
The five flights are:
- Flight NZ5083 from Auckland to Nelson at 5.20pm on 16 January
- NZ5080 Nelson to Auckland at 4pm on 19 January
- NZ5077 Auckland to Nelson at 2pm on 19 January
- NZ5049 Auckland to New Plymouth at 7.50pm on 19 January
- NZ5042 New Plymouth to Auckland at 1.50pm on 20 January
The ministry said it had been informed of a further case who was a guest at the event which they are treating as the Omicron variant and whole genome sequencing is being carried out to determine this.
An Auckland aged residential care worker associated with the family from Nelson, has tested positive for Covid-19 and it is being treated as the Omicron variant, the ministry said. The worker is fully vaccinated and whole genome sequencing is being carried out.
Summerset by the Park Rest Home in Flat Bush, Auckland Photo: Google
Summerset by the Park Rest Home in Flat Bush is now closed to visitors and testing is being carried out on residents and staff. Anyone who has visited the rest home since Friday 21 January and has symptoms of Covid-19 is asked to isolate and get a test as soon as possible.
There are eight people with Covid-19 in hospital with none in ICU or HDU.
Today's border cases come from India, Sweden, United States, Scotland, Denmark, Turkey, Australia, Switzerland, Ireland, United Kingdom, Kenya, Pakistan and Singapore.
Details of two Northland cases counted in today's tally [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/460015/two-new-covid-19-cases-in-northland-region
were released yesterday] evening, in the hope it would spur people to get tested if they had symptoms. One has been linked to a previous case and was isolating in Whangārei, the other was in Kaitāia.
Omicron in the community
This morning Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced all of New Zealand would enter the red Covid-19 framework setting just before midnight tonight as Omicron cases are being found in the community.
She said the Nelson family of nine who tested positive this week and has been linked to five Air NZ flights has been confirmed to have the Omicron variant. Another family member from the household has also tested positive.
They had been at a wedding in Auckland recently, and contact tracing has found a connection with the border.
"That means Omicron is now circulating in Auckland and possibly the Nelson-Marlborough region, if not elsewhere," Ardern said.
Ardern stressed slowing Omicron relies heavily on contact tracing, people isolating, and vaccinations, and asked people to regularly check the places of interest, but said outbreaks could still be stamped out.