New Zealand Post is gearing up for a sustained, large-scale Omicron outbreak with an extra 800 staff on board so critical deliveries can continue.
Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
The postal service's chief operating officer, Brendon Main, said the pandemic had prompted a massive increase in online shopping over the last two years, with more than 50 million parcels delivered in the two months before Christmas.
He said the company was preparing for increased demand for deliveries with more people self-isolating - but also the likelihood that some of its workforce would be unwell or self-isolating themselves.
Main said New Zealand Post had boosted its delivery capacity by about 10 percent and would continue to scale up.
There were 1573 new community cases reported today, with 62 people in hospital.
In Auckland, Starship Children's Hospital is dealing with an outbreak linked to a positive case on a ward last week.
So far, six staff members and six patients have tested positive.
Twenty-two Auckland City Hospital staff have also been infected as part of a Covid-19 outbreak that was discovered in two wards last week.
Sixteen patients in the Awatea and Marino wards, which mainly care for older people have tested positive.
Auckland District Health Board said in a statement that it was not unexpected there would be Covid-19 outbreaks in hospital as Omicron continued to spread.
Some of the health workforce would contract the virus due to the high number of cases in the community, but Auckland DHB had robust plans in place in case of infections, it said.
University of Otago flags two parties as locations of interest
Two parties in Dunedin's student quarter are the city's first locations of interest announced in the latest outbreak.
On Facebook, the University of Otago said anyone who attended Castle Street parties between 7pm on Saturday and 1am on Sunday, or between 7pm on Monday and 12.30am on Tuesday, needed to get a Covid-19 test and self-isolate.
Earlier this month, the university urged students to avoid mass gatherings as they posed a significant health risk.
Tairāwhiti outbreak grows
Tairāwhiti DHB has announced seven new cases of Covid-19 in the region today.
The cases are linked to two clusters in Gisborne. There are 37 active cases in the region and none are in hospital.
A student at Lytton High School tested positive on Monday and all school student and teacher contacts are awaiting test results.
The school is operating as normal.
The testing station at Watson Park in Gisborne continues to see large numbers of people, with a record 336 showing up on Monday.