New Zealand has recorded its first case of Omicron, the recently identified 'variant of concern', in a Christchurch managed isolation facility.
The person, who travelled from Germany via Dubai and arrived on December 10, is now completing two weeks of isolation at the Sudima Christchurch Airport facility. They are fully vaccinated.
The discovery followed a major milestone for New Zealand - 90 percent of eligible Kiwis are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Pfizer-BioNTech's paediatric vaccine was also granted provisional approval by Medsafe for use in children aged five to 11.
Meanwhile, thousands of people descended on the capital on Thursday for a planned march to Parliament, in in protest of vaccination mandates and ongoing restrictions.
What you need to know:
- New Zealand's first case of the Omicron variant has been detected in a Christchurch MIQ facility.
- There are 76 new cases of COVID-19 to report on Friday - 47 in Auckland, 15 in Waikato, 10 in Bay of Plenty, one in Lakes and three in Taranaki.
- Fifty-one people are in hospital, five of whom are in intensive care or high dependency units.
- A number of people have now tested positive for COVID-19 in Eltham, Taranaki as part of a "growing cluster" associated with a case reported over the weekend. The majority of the cases are pupils at a local school.
- Ninety percent of eligible New Zealanders are now fully vaccinated.
- The paediatric version of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine has been granted provisional approval by Medsafe for use in five-to-11-year-olds.
- Keep up-to-date with the latest locations of interest here.
These live updates are closed.
5:57pm - A Ministry of Health spokesperson says contact tracers have identified 86 of close contacts in relation to the Omicron case in Christchurch
"At this stage, the close contacts includes all passengers on the flight to New Zealand and the chartered flight to Christchurch for international arrivals.
"Only passengers on the chartered flight to Christchurch travelled on the buses to the Christchurch managed isolation facility.
"Public health officials have not determined the bus drivers close contacts due to the infection prevention controls followed and PPE worn."
5:02pm - A child with COVID-19 between the ages of 0 and 9 has died, according to the Ministry of Health.
The Ministry of Health's case demographic website was updated on Friday afternoon to show a single death in the 0 to 9 age bracket.
The child is the youngest person to die from COVID-19 in New Zealand.
It is unknown when the child died.
4:30pm - A Florida man has been banned from flying United Airlines for wearing a red thong as a face mask.
Adam Jenne was flying UA wearing the thong as a protest as what he says is the absurdity of having to wear a mask on a flight then being allowed to take it off to eat.
Jenne was told to leave the flight before it took off and the whole thing was captured on video.
"There's nothing more absurd than having to wear a mask until I get to cruising altitude so that I can order Tito's by the double and snack on pretzels, and illustrating that absurdity by wearing women’s underwear on my face sounds perfect," said Jenne.
Other passengers also left the plane in protest.
'Did he just get kicked off for wearing a mask' said one man in the video.
'I'm out of here, forget it. I'm out of here,' said the man.
3:47pm - G7 health ministers on Thursday called the new Omicron COVID-19 outbreak the "biggest current threat to global public health."
They called for countries to work closely together and share data and more importantly to ensure equitable access to vaccines.
The Omicron outbreak which began in South Africa has been blamed on vaccine inequity between rich and poor nations.
Read the full report here
3:31pm - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday it had received reports of eight cases of myocarditis, a type of heart inflammation, in children aged 5-11 years who received Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine.
The CDC had previously said that reporting rates of myocarditis for boys aged 16 to 17 could be more than 69 cases per million second doses administered and around 40 cases per million second doses in boys aged 12-15 years old.
The CDC did not say whether it believes there is a link between the myocarditis cases and the vaccine, or disclose the rate of myocarditis in the age group without vaccination.
The agency said there had been over 7 million vaccine doses in the 5-11 age group at the time it examined the data, with 5.1 million first doses and 2 million second doses. The cases had a mild clinical course, the CDC said.
Reuters
3:17pm - Australia has hit the magical 90 percent double dose vaccination rate just in time for Christmas 10 News First has reported. This comes on the same day New South Wales recorded 2213 new COVID-19 cases a record daily increase.
2:47pm - This is the last weekend before the Christmas holidays Aucklanders can get vaccinated is happening this weekend across Tāmaki Makaurau, including at a festive ‘Super Hero Sunday’ event in south Auckland.
There will be a DJ, singers, hāngi, ice cream, prizes and a bouncy castle at Manurewa Marae on Sunday afternoon. It’s one of up to a dozen events offering people the chance to get vaccinated and protect their whānau this summer, as well as travel freely throughout Aotearoa.
People can also still get vaccinated throughout the Christmas and New Year holiday period right across Auckland with dozens of GPs and pharmacies open – including on Christmas Day.
The full list of sites including their operating hours and locations, are listed here on the Healthpoint website by region:
2:10pm - Dr David Welch, a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland's Centre for Computational Evolution and School of Computer Science, says Omicron's rapid spread means New Zealand has to prepare well for when it gets in the community.
"If it arrived undetected in the community now, we would expect to see our largest outbreak yet. It is thus important that we keep it out of the country while we prepare," he told the Science Media Centre.
"Keeping it out requires ongoing maintenance of the MIQ system for all arrivals into the country, whether vaccinated or not. With rapid spread in Australia, the plan to allow NZ citizens to return with no MIQ from 15 January should be immediately postponed to provide certainty to those affected.
"The vaccination requirement for arrivals should be raised to three doses of the vaccine to reduce the risk of Omicron coming here."
Dr Welch says New Zealand needs to maintain high levels of testing in the community and third doses need to be rolled out rapidly. He also calls on the requirement to wait six months for a booster to be dropped.
"A strong equity focus is needed in the booster programme to protect the most vulnerable communities. All border workers and MIQ staff should be triple dosed. We cannot rely on vaccination alone to protect us and need ongoing measures to reduce spread."
1:34pm - Here are today's regional updates from the Ministry of Health:
Today's cases
Today, we are reporting new community cases in Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Lakes and Taranaki.
Regional updates
We are continuing to ask anyone in New Zealand with symptoms, no matter how mild, to get tested - even if you're vaccinated. Please stay at home until you return a negative result.
Testing and vaccination centre locations nationwide can be found via Healthpoint.
Auckland
Today, there are 47 new cases to report in Auckland. Health and welfare providers are now supporting 2064 people to isolate at home, including 538 cases.
Waikato
There are 15 cases to report in Waikato today - six in Hamilton and six in Te Kūiti. The locations of the three remaining cases are still under investigation.
There are two cases receiving care at Waikato Hospital.
One new location of interest was confirmed in Hamilton on Thursday.
There are 10 pop-up and dedicated testing sites operating throughout Waikato today with sites in Hamilton, Te Kūiti, Ngāruawāhia, Huntly, Taumarunui, Tokoroa, Putāruru and Ōtorohanga.
Health and welfare providers are supporting 68 cases to isolate at home.
Bay of Plenty
There are 10 cases to report in the Bay of Plenty today. All are in the Tauranga area.
Of today's cases, nine are linked to previously reported cases and one is still being investigated for potential links. Contacts are being identified and will be contacted for testing and isolation advice.
Lakes
Today we are reporting one new case in the Lakes DHB region. This case is in Rotorua and is a contact of a previously reported case. They are currently isolating.
Taranaki
Today we are reporting three new cases in Taranaki - two are linked to the Eltham cluster and the third is based in New Plymouth.
These cases were announced on Thursday afternoon by Taranaki District Health Board.
Public health staff are interviewing the New Plymouth case to determine links to any previously reported cases.
Any potential close contacts will be followed up and if locations of interest are identified, they will be added to the ministry's website.
Testing is available today at the following locations:
Taranaki Base Hospital testing centre from 9am to 3pm
Saliva testing at the Hāwera Hub from 2pm to 6pm (run by Ngati Ruanui).
For testing information in Taranaki please visit TDHB - COVID-19 testing. For vaccination information in Taranaki please visit TDHB - COVID-19 vaccine.
1:32pm - There are 76 new cases of COVID-19 to report on Friday.
Here's the full statement from the Ministry of Health:
More than 21,000 vaccines given yesterday; 76 community cases; 51 in hospital; 5 in ICU
Almost 90 percent of the eligible Māori populations under Capital & Coast and Auckland District Health Boards (DHBs) respectively are fully vaccinated.
For Auckland DHB, just 1339 of the eligible population need a second dose to reach the milestone, while for Capital & Coast, an additional 1480 vaccinations are needed to hit the mark.
Pacific people across 19 of the 20 DHBs are 90 percent partially vaccinated or higher, with Whanganui due to reach this milestone at any moment with just 57 doses to go.
Four of the smaller DHBs are also fast closing in on the 90 percent mark, with Wairarapa DHB needing just 157 more doses; South Canterbury 516 doses; MidCentral 778 dose, and Nelson-Marlborough 1183 doses.
Omicron close contacts update
All of the passengers on the same international and domestic flights as the case are being treated as close contacts and all are isolating in a managed isolation facility.
Two other passengers on the international flight have tested positive for COVID-19 and one further positive result is being investigated as a historical infection. These three people have been moved to a managed quarantine facility. Whole genome sequencing has identified one of these infections as the Delta variant.
Whole genome sequencing for the other two is due later today.
All other passengers have returned negative day 0/1 and day 3 tests.
Urgent whole genome sequencing is being carried out on all positive test results in recent returnees to determine if they have the Omicron variant.
While the arrival of a new variant is concerning, New Zealand is well placed to manage Omicron cases with isolation and testing requirements for all new arrivals, robust infection and prevention control and PPE measures at airports and MIQ facilities, and frequent surveillance testing of staff who have any contact with recent returnees.
COVID-19 vaccine update
Vaccines administered to date (percentage of eligible people): 3,959,739 first doses (94 pct); 3,783,760 second doses (90 pct); 23,498 third primary doses; 194,770 booster doses
Vaccines administered yesterday: 2,434 first doses; 8,294 second doses; 726 third primary doses and 10,018 booster doses.
Māori (percentage of eligible people): 494,570 first doses (87 pct); 438,099 second doses (77 pct)
Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people): 267,805 first doses (93 pct); 250,690 second doses (87 pct)
Vaccination rates by DHB with active cases (percentage of eligible people)
Northland DHB: First doses (88 pct); second doses (82 pct)
Auckland Metro DHBs: First doses (95 pct); second doses (92 pct)
Waikato DHB: First doses (93 pct); second doses (88 pct)
Bay of Plenty DHB: First doses (93 pct); second doses (87 pct)
Lakes DHB: First doses (91 pct); second doses (85 pct)
Taranaki DHB: First doses (92 pct); second doses (87 pct)
Hawke's Bay DHB: First doses (94 pct); second doses (88 pct)
Nelson-Marlborough DHB: First doses (94 pct); second doses (89 pct)
Canterbury DHB: First doses (97 pct); second doses (94 pct)
Hospitalisations
Cases in hospital: 51; North Shore: 7; Auckland: 26; Middlemore: 13; Waikato: 2; Tauranga: 2, Christchurch: 1
Vaccination status of current hospitalisations (Northern Region wards only): Unvaccinated or not eligible (26 cases / 51 pct); partially immunised <7 days from second dose or have only received one dose (8 cases / 16 pct); fully vaccinated at least 7 days before being reported as a case (9 cases/ 18 pct); unknown (8 cases / 16 pct)
Average age of current hospitalisations: 53
Cases in ICU or HDU: 5 (1 in North Shore; 2 in Auckland; 2 in Middlemore)
Cases
Seven day rolling average of community cases: 82
Number of new community cases: 76
Number of new cases identified at the border: 3
Location of new community cases: Auckland (47), Waikato (15), Bay of Plenty (10), Lakes (1), Taranaki (3).
Number of community cases (total): 10,129 (in current community outbreak)
Cases epidemiologically linked (total): 7,457
Number of active cases (total): 2,104 (cases identified in the past 21 days and not yet classed as recovered)
Confirmed cases (total): 12,947
Contacts
Number of active contacts being managed (total): 6,646
Percentage who have received an outbound call from contact tracers (to confirm testing and isolation requirements): 83 pct
Percentage who have returned at least one result: 78 pct
Tests
Number of tests total (last 24 hours): 22,896
Tests rolling average (last 7 days): 24,390
Auckland tests total (last 24 hours): 8,352
Wastewater
COVID-19 has been detected in a wastewater sample taken in Napier on December 15.
This could be due to recently recovered cases returning to the region who are shedding the virus, transient visitors, or it could signal undetected cases in the community.
There are no known cases self-isolating in Napier.
As a prudent measure, anyone in the Hawke's Bay with COVID-19 symptoms – no matter how mild – is asked to please get tested, even if they are vaccinated. For testing centres available in the Hawke's Bay today see the Healthpoint website.
NZ COVID Tracer
Poster scans in 24 hours to midday yesterday: 3,211,437
Manual diary entries in 24 hours to midday: 40,927
My Vaccine Pass
My vaccine pass downloads total: 4,335,640
My vaccine pass downloads (last 24 hours): 35,824
1:05pm - In case you missed it, New South Wales has recorded 2213 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm on Thursday (local time).
There are now 185 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant in the state.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the state has recorded 92,343 cases of the virus.
There are currently 215 patients admitted to hospital, with 24 people in intensive care - eight of whom require ventilation.
12:55pm - The Human Rights Commissioner met with Brian Tamaki this week ahead of a protest against vaccine mandates and COVID-19 restrictions outside Parliament, organised by a group founded by the Destiny Church leader.
In a statement to Newshub, the Human Rights Commission (HRC) confirmed the meeting took place on Tuesday and said the Chief Commissioner, Paul Hunt, is open to talking to those who "have concerns about potential breaches of human rights".
It's "buoyed" Tamaki, who was "surprised" the commissioner wanted to talk. But ACT's David Seymour says the HRC should be abolished, labelling it a "joke" and a "waste of taxpayer money".
The meeting was held virtually on Tuesday morning with Hunt and two commission staffers attending along with three members of the Freedom and Rights Coalition (FRC), which was founded by Tamaki. Newshub can confirm one of those attendees was the controversial pastor, who is currently facing charges in relation to his role in attending and organising protests in violation of COVID-19 restrictions.
The FRC has organised a large number of rallies across the country in recent months. Events in Auckland, which just this month left alert level 3, have been called "extremely disappointing" and a "significant breach" of COVID rules by police.
They've also angered Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who said the first major stand in Auckland Domain in early October was "obviously illegal" and "morally wrong".
Individuals speaking at the FRC events frequently spout misinformation about the vaccine, such as claiming incorrectly that it is "experimental" and has led to a large number of injuries and deaths. This was the case on Thursday.
A spokesperson for the HRC told Newshub the meeting was a "free and frank discussion of rights and responsibilities".
"The Chief Commissioner and the Human Rights Commission are open to talking with, and meeting, a range of people and organisations who have concerns about potential breaches of human rights. This is what occurred on Tuesday."
12:35pm - The Ministry of Health will reveal the latest updates on the COVID-19 outbreak at 1pm.
Here's a recap of Thursday's figures:
12:25pm - A passenger on-board a domestic flight is concerned a group of what he called 'anti-vaccination protesters' were allowed to board his flight, despite apparently breaching the current restrictions for domestic travel.
Police and the airport have confirmed the confrontation took place between passengers.
Daniel Nielsen said the group was protesting at the departure gate in Wellington Airport before the flight to Christchurch on Friday morning.
"A group of about 20 unmasked anti-vaxxers on my flight from Wellington to Christchurch. They've been shouting at people in the departure lounge. Most passengers are super uncomfortable. Police at departure, saying there's nothing they can do," he tweeted.
Nielsen told Newshub the group continued to intimidate other passengers despite requests from fellow passengers for them to stop.
"A couple of women confronted them in the departure lounge, they were shouted down," he said.
In a statement, police confirmed its staff at Wellington Airport responded to a verbal confrontation between passengers waiting to depart this morning.
"The incident occurred after some passengers became concerned others were not wearing masks and were intending to fly," a spokesperson said.
"Police spoke with those involved and determined the 10 unmasked people all had exemptions not to wear masks."
12:15pm - Here are the two latest locations of interest as of 12pm:
- Countdown, Greerton, Tauranga
- New World, Te Puke.
For the relevant dates, times and public health advice, click here.
12pm - Women are worse off than men in retirement and experts predict COVID-19 will make things worse. But changes now will ensure women are better off in the future - should we reimburse retiring women for the gender pension gap?
It's Ana's* teeth that are one of her biggest worries about the future. When she was in a relationship, she could afford crowns and implants that cost thousands of dollars each. But now that she's 64, newly single and in a minimum-wage job, she has to get her teeth pulled when she chips or breaks one. She's already had two out and isn't confident about the lifespan of the rest.
She's lucky in that she owns part of a house, so she doesn't have to pay rent. But her relationship breakup has left her skint and fully reliant on NZ Super in the future, apart from a small amount in KiwiSaver.
"Luckily I've got lower expectations than other people my age," she says.
Ana is an example of the growing trend of women who arrive at retirement much poorer than men - a disparity that researchers say the pandemic has exacerbated.
"Globally, older women are the fastest-growing group in poverty," says Dr Claire Dale, a research fellow in the Retirement Policy and Research Centre at the University of Auckland's business school.
"This is huge. This is terrifying."
The 2022 Te Ara Ahunga Ora / The Retirement Commission's review of retirement income policy is about to get underway, with Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs David Clark releasing the Government's terms of reference this week. The terms tell the commission what areas to explore for its next report. In 2022, this will include the impact of government policy on the retirement savings of women, Pasifika and Māori, as well as looking at retirement with cultural and gender lenses to understand the different impacts of those policies.
Other topics for the 2022 review are the adequacy of NZ Super on future retirees who are renting or don't own their home outright, and how diverse housing for seniors would have different impacts on retirement savings and income.
Across the OECD, women arrive at retirement much worse off than men. In New Zealand, KiwiSaver balances for those aged 55-64 are already almost a quarter lower than men's across all schemes, even though the scheme only started in 2007.
Because retirement savings depend on lifetime contributions, the gender pension gap is a distillation of every bias and disadvantage that some in society face throughout their life. It's worse for Māori and Pasifika women, who face discrimination not just on the basis of gender but also ethnicity.
11:40am - New cases of COVID-19 in Britain hit a record high for the second day running on Thursday (local time) as England's Chief Medical Officer warned daily hospital admissions could also hit new peaks due to the fast-spreading Omicron variant.
Britain reported 88,376 new infections, the highest since the start of the pandemic and up around 10,000 since the previous record set on Wednesday.
The surge in cases was piling pressure on a health service struggling with staff sickness, England's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said on Thursday.
Omicron is so transmissible that even if it proves to be milder than other variants, it could still cause a surge in hospital admissions, Whitty told lawmakers.
The record for the number of people admitted to hospital with COVID-19 is 4583 set in January.
"It is possible, because this is going to be very concentrated over a short period of time, even if it's milder, you could end up with a higher number than that going into hospital on a single day," he said.
However, he said vaccinations could cut the numbers admitted to intensive care and shorten the time spent in hospital. On Thursday, there were 849 admissions.
Susan Hopkins, the chief medical adviser at the UK Health Security Agency, said there were 15 proven cases of Omicron in hospitals, but that the number was likely to be much higher.
Although new cases were at a record high according to official data, Britain did not have mass testing capacity in March 2020 when the pandemic first hit the country, and so the scale of infections at that point is unknown.
A senior emergency doctor said hospitals, particularly in London, were struggling to maintain staffing levels due to the number who are having to isolate with COVID-19.
"Even if we are not seeing a big rise in hospitalisations yet, we are already seeing the effect on not having the staff to run shifts properly and safely," Katherine Henderson, an emergency consultant in London and president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, told BBC Radio.
"So we are worried about patient harm coming about because we just don't have the staff."
The education minister also warned of problems with staff shortages, and said his department would work with ex teachers who wanted to return to the profession to help.
Britain is betting that vaccine boosters will prevent serious illness from Omicron.
The government has also advised people to work from home, mandated mask wearing in public places and has introduced COVID-19 passes to enter some venues and events in England, but has stopped short of previous lockdown measures.
"If it looked as if the vaccines were less effective than we were expecting, that for example would be a material change to how ministers viewed the risks going forward," Whitty said.
- Reuters
11:25am - New South Wales has recorded 2213 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. As of Friday, 215 people with COVID-19 are in hospital, including 24 in intensive care.
The state has seen a rapid surge in infections this week, with just 536 new cases recorded on Monday.
11:05am - It's looking likely that New Zealand will follow in the footsteps of the UK, Australia and South Korea and shorten the wait for booster shots.
The efficacy of the current vaccines, developed to fight the original strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, wanes in the months after the second dose.
A US study this week found their protection against infection starts declining at the three-month mark, accelerating after the fourth. And the early evidence suggests the Omicron variant is so mutated, two doses hardly stops it at all - but a third dramatically boosts the immune system's antibody response.
"The third dose also showed stronger T-cell immune responses were still generated, which is important as T-cells are considered to indicate protection against severe COVID-19 disease," said Dianne Sika-Paotonu, University of Otago Wellington immunologist.
"This supports the need for a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in the form of a vaccine booster after the initial two doses, in order to help protect against the Omicron variant."
Health officials and experts were due to discuss a potential booster rollout in New Zealand on Tuesday. The Ministry of Health failed to respond to Newshub's requests for updates on Wednesday and Thursday, but on Friday morning Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield told media they will be discussing boosters with Cabinet later that day.
"We're seeing from the evidence overseas that's emerging pretty quickly that three doses of the Pfizer vaccine gets you that high level of protection," he told Newstalk ZB.
10:50am - A group of health experts is calling for Māori children to be prioritised when Pfizer-BioNTech's paediatric vaccine is rolled out to the younger demographic.
On Thursday, Medsafe granted provisional approval for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to be used in children. Kiwi kids under 12 will get an adapted version of the existing vaccine for the 12-plus age group. The vaccine will be administered in two doses, given at least 21 days apart.
The exact date of when the rollout will begin will depend on Cabinet, which is yet to give its approval, but it's expected to be by the end of January.
In an article for the New Zealand Medical Journal, health experts Owen Sinclair, Jin Russell, Danny de Lore, Erik Andersen, Teuila Percival and Siouxsie Wiles said Māori children should be first in line as they are at a higher risk of contracting the virus.
They say lower vaccination rates within Māori communities play into this, with only 76 percent of eligible Māori fully vaccinated nationwide.
The numbers are much lower than the general population, with 90 percent of eligible Kiwis now fully vaccinated and 94 percent vaccinated with their first dose. The rate is also lower than that of Pacific communities, with 87 percent of Pacific people fully vaccinated and 94 percent partially.
"Although early reports suggested that COVID-19 was a benign illness for children, subsequent studies have shown that children are at risk of harm from both the direct and indirect impacts of COVID-19 infection and the pandemic," the researchers said.
"Because evidence suggests that Māori children are at a higher risk of all harms, we argue that Māori children should be prioritised in any paediatric vaccination programme."
10:35am - The European Medicines Agency (EMA) could approve the Novavax vaccine as early as next week, paving the way for emergency use listing from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing sources.
The emergency use listing (EUL) procedure assesses the suitability of novel health products during public health emergencies, according to the WHO. The objective is to make medicines, vaccines and diagnostics available as rapidly as possible to address the emergency while adhering to stringent criteria of safety, efficacy and quality.
Novavax shares rose 7 percent following the report.
The EMA, WHO and Novavax did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Approval from the WHO could be granted once the health body issues its own emergency use listing, or if the EMA gives it a conditional marketing authorisation, the newspaper reported.
- Reuters
10:25am - Ashley Bloomfield says he has a "really high level of confidence" that the Omicron variant can be kept out of the country over summer - but he won't be afraid to play his "aces" if it does creep into the community.
New Zealand recorded its first case of the highly mutated strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on Thursday - a person in managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) who arrived in Christchurch from Germany, via Dubai and Auckland, about a week ago.
It's still early days, but the evidence to date suggests Omicron is far more infectious than the Delta variant. Research also indicates the immunity offered by two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine - or natural infection - does not provide sufficient protection against the strain.
"I'm not sure if there will be further [positive] tests from that flight, but what I would say is this will be the first of many Omicron cases we will see at the border," the Director-General of Health told Newstalk ZB on Friday morning.
"We saw this with the Delta variant. It started off with the first, then a few cases, but then as it became the dominant variant - that seems to be what's happening in Europe, where Omicron is really surging - we will see and we're expecting that most of our cases within a short period of time will be Omicron coming across the border. We will deal with them and keep them at the border - that's our aim."
Earlier this month, the Government ditched the alert level system in favour of the COVID-19 Protection Framework, which doesn't have national lockdowns built into it - however, smaller, localised lockdowns in the event of an outbreak do remain an option.
"Even under the COVID-19 Protection Framework, there is still provision for localised or regional lockdowns if that's needed - even without Omicron - to control the number of cases if we've got high rates of infection in an area," Bloomfield told RNZ.
"Of course, the key thing as we've found right through this pandemic is keep as many aces in your hand as you can, and don't be afraid to play them when you need to."
Dr Bloomfield said it is "not possible" to determine the likelihood of a future lockdown being imposed.
"We don't have it in the community as yet, which is good, and we're going to do everything we can to keep it that way."
10:15am - Here are the latest locations of interest as of 10am:
- The Plaza Shopping Centre, Palmeston North
- Eltham Athletics Club, Taumata Park, Eltham (updated from Thursday).
For the relevant dates, times and public health advice, click here.
10:05am - Despite a national vaccination rate of 90 percent, an expert is warning New Zealanders not to get too complacent as the Omicron variant comes knocking.
On Thursday, health officials confirmed a new arrival from Germany had tested positive for the 'variant of concern' at a managed isolation facility in Christchurch. The person, who travelled via Dubai and arrived on December 10, is fully vaccinated and is now in quarantine.
Dr Dianne Sika-Paotonu, an immunologist and senior lecturer in Pathology & Molecular Medicine at the University of Otago Wellington, says New Zealanders can't get too comfortable just yet - despite 90 percent of the eligible population now being fully vaccinated against the virus.
"Although vaccination levels have increased across the country which has been encouraging, vigilance is still needed. Areas remain in Aotearoa New Zealand where there is lower coverage and we are still dealing with a serious Delta outbreak, with COVID-19 continuing to spread across the country," Sika-Paotonu said on Friday.
"With the recent shift into the COVID-19 Protection Framework/traffic light system, more people will be interacting and getting out and about, coming into close contact with each other, increasing risk that this will promote and accelerate spread – especially for those who are vulnerable, including our children."
On Thursday, Medsafe announced it had granted Pfizer-BioNTech's paediatric vaccine provisional approval for use in those aged five to 11. If given the green light by the Government, it's expected the vaccine will become available to children from next month.
"Children and tamaiki aged five to 11 may not have access to a fully approved COVID-19 vaccine until January. In the meantime, we still need to keep them safe and protected from COVID-19. If fully approved, they will be the most recent cohort to be added to the COVID-19 vaccination programme. This means they will have had less time than others across Aotearoa New Zealand to get the COVID-19 vaccine - an equity focus with appropriate prioritisation with the vaccination rollout will be important and critical moving forward," Sika-Paotonu said.
She added that it's imperative eligible New Zealanders are getting their booster shot as soon as they are able to. Currently, Kiwis aged 18 and over can receive their booster if it has been at least six months since their second jab.
"Preliminary data from Pfizer-BioNTech relating to vaccine-induced protection against Omicron indicated that immunity was better with three doses of the Pfizer vaccine than with two doses. The third dose also showed stronger T cell immune responses were still generated, which is important as T cells are considered to indicate protection against severe COVID-19 disease," she explained.
"This supports the need for a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in the form of a booster after the initial two doses, in order to help protect against the Omicron variant."
9:50am - A panel for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended other COVID-19 vaccines over Johnson & Johnson's, citing a link to a rare but potentially fatal blood clotting disorder, according to The New York Times.
The panel's vote effectively discourages vaccine providers and adults from using Johnson & Johnson's formula. Data presented on Thursday (local time) to the committee indicated there was a higher risk for the blood clotting condition than had been reported earlier to the panel.
9:30am - A paper published on Friday in the New Zealand Medical Journal confirms the covidSHIELD PCR saliva test, developed by the University of Illinois, is a reliable option for detecting COVID-19.
Lead author Associate Professor Janet Pitman from the Victoria University of Wellington said the study found the University of Illinois' test had a 99.1 percent accuracy rate.
"It is the first New Zealand study to diagnostically validate a saliva test for COVID-19," Associate Professor Pitman said on Friday.
The covidSHIELD test is licensed by Rako Science for use in New Zealand.
Associate Professor Pitman said it performed at least as well as nasopharyngeal swab tests, which have been widely used for surveillance testing in the community.
"With the emergence of new COVID-19 variants, it's more important than ever that we have options for community testing that are acceptable to people getting tested and deliver reliable results. The covidSHIELD saliva test meets these criteria."
The covidSHIELD test was developed by a multi-disciplinary team of 150 scientists, led by Professor Martin Burke at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.
Pitman and her team began working with the University of Illinois in September 2020 to validate covidSHIELD for use in Aoteoroa. The validation study used 147 saliva samples, each paired with a nasal swab taken at the same time, to measure the reliability of the covidSHIELD test method.
Testing was performed at Victoria University of Wellington and IGENZ Ltd, a medical test lab in Auckland. Samples were "blind" tested.
The New Zealand research team included Dr Amanda Dixon-McIver, laboratory director at IGENZ, Dr Arthur Morris, a microbiologist and pathologist and Dr Stephen Grice, director at Rako Science.
"The University of Illinois' covidSHIELD team was excited to support the New Zealand science team led by Associate Professor Janet Pitman and contribute to the New Zealand Medical Journal paper published today," University of Illinois executive Discovery Partners Institute director, Bill Jackson, said.
"The University of Illinois is proud to see its innovation being leveraged at scale in New Zealand to keep Kiwis safe, The covidSHIELD test is helping to save lives in the United States and we are pleased it is helping save lives downunder."
Wellington University's Vice Chancellor Dr Grant Guilford said the validation study was "an important contribution to Aotearoa's public health response to COVID-19".
"The test provides a practical way to broaden current testing regimens," he said. "Global research connections have been crucial during the pandemic and the University of Illinois research relationship with Te Herenga Waka is an excellent demonstration of this."
9:15am - Here's a quick Q&A with Dr Fran Priddy, the executive director of Vaccine Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand, about Omicron's emergence.
How is Omicron affecting our current vaccines?
"The Omicron variant is characterized by a markedly increased number of mutations, including approximately 30 in the spike protein which is a critical location for infectiousness and for neutralisation by vaccine-induced antibodies.
"A small number of non-peer reviewed, preliminary studies from Europe and South Africa show that blood from vaccinees is 20-180 times less able in lab testing to neutralise Omicron than the early Wuhan strain, and at least 10 times less than is seen against Delta strain. This is concerning because lab-based neutralization correlates with protection from infection and suggests that current two-dose vaccine regimens will not protect against Omicron infection.
"Good news is that at least two studies so far show that a third booster dose of mRNA can improve neutralisation titers against Omicron. However, this data does not tell us about current vaccine protection from disease due to Omicron. Early data on protection from symptomatic infection from the UK looked at 581 symptomatic Omicron cases and found that a third booster dose of Pfizer vaccine improved vaccine effectiveness to about 75 percent.
"We do not yet know whether Omicron is likely to cause significant hospitalisation or mortality and whether current vaccine regimens can protect against those outcomes, which are not solely related to neutralisation responses.
"New Zealand is in a good position to prepare for Omicron as we have access to an mRNA vaccine regimen, including availability of booster doses. Until we understand how pathogenic Omicron may be (ie how deadly) it is critical to complete two-dose vaccinations, accelerate the booster campaign, and also to consider whether the six-month booster interval should be shortened.
"If Omicron does cause high rates of hospitalisation even with boosting using current vaccines, then an Omicron-specific vaccine may be necessary. Companies and research groups, like VAANZ, are already preparing Omicron-specific candidates should they be needed."
9:05am - Doing the media rounds on Friday morning, Director-General of Health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, said the new case of the Omicron variant at a Christchurch managed isolation facility "will be the first of many".
The new arrival, who travelled from Germany via Dubai and touched down on December 10, tested positive for the 'variant of concern' on Thursday at the Sudima Christchurch Airport facility.
Speaking to Newstalk ZB, Bloomfield confirmed the person is "safely in quarantine" and will undergo a number of tests during their stay.
Regarding the passengers on the same flight as the case, Bloomfield said he is unsure whether there will be any further positive tests.
"I'm not sure if there will be further [positive] tests from that flight, but what I would say is this will be the first of many Omicron cases we will see at the border," he said.
"We saw this with the Delta variant - it started off with the first, then a few cases, but then as it became the dominant variant - that seems to be what's happening in Europe, where Omicron is really surging - we will see and we're expecting that most of our cases within a short period of time will be Omicron coming across the border. We will deal with them and keep them at the border - that's our aim."
He added that he has a "really high level of confidence" that the variant can be prevented from entering the community, despite some experts saying it's inevitable that the strain will seep out of managed isolation facilities at some point - given past failures at the border.
"People can stick with their holiday plans… everyone's done the hard yards, yesterday hitting that 90 percent double-vaccinated. An absolutely huge achievement - that's going to go a long way to keeping people safe," Bloomfield told Newstalk ZB.
Regarding talk of fast-tracking booster jabs, he said health officials are "looking very closely" at the possibility of shortening the current six-month period between a second and third dose. They will be talking with ministers about the interval on Friday, he said.
"We're seeing from the evidence overseas that's emerging pretty quickly that three doses of the Pfizer vaccine gets you that high level of protection," he said. "[But] let's see. Ministers haven't had a chance to look at it yet."
"We don't want [people waiting] eight or nine months. It may be that the shorter interval is something that will encourage people to get that booster [within] six months."
He said he doesn't want to preempt when the announcement regarding boosters will be made, but acknowledged it would likely be before Christmas.
8:55am - In light of recent developments, the Director-General of Health has reiterated that the Government will review its plans to begin reopening the border next month.
Over the first quarter of 2022, the Government plans to gradually reopen New Zealand's border to international travellers, with the first phase set to begin in mid-January. From January 17, fully vaccinated New Zealanders, residence-class visa holders and other eligible travellers will be able to travel to Aotearoa from Australia without being required to stay in a managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) facility on arrival. Returnees will need to self-isolate for seven days and must provide a final negative test before entering the community, as well as a negative pre-departure test, proof of vaccination, a passenger declaration about travel history, and a day 0/1 test on arrival.
Speaking to RNZ's Morning Report on Friday, Dr Ashley Bloomfield said the Government will be reviewing its decision to reopen the border to Australia-based Kiwis next month as the recently identified variant of concern, Omicron, rapidly circulates overseas, including in Australia.
"We're looking at the developments internationally every day and making sure we're giving the best possible advice. I know that there will be reconsideration of that just to see how things are in early January," he said.
He added that the current measures in place at the border, such as MIQ and home isolation requirements for all new arrivals, will help to prevent any cases of the variant from creeping into the community.
"The key thing here is at the moment, we have our very strict and rigorous border measures in place, that most countries don't have. And we will be keeping those in place... We don't have [Omicron] in the community as yet, which is good, and we're going to do everything we can to keep it that way."
He also reiterated that localised lockdowns are still possible under the current framework if an outbreak calls for a more stringent response.
"Even under the COVID Protection Framework, there is still provision for localised or regional lockdowns if that's needed - even without Omicron - to control the number of cases if we've got high rates of infection in an area," Bloomfield explained.
"Of course, the key thing as we've found right through this pandemic is keep as many aces in your hand as you can, and don't be afraid to play them when you need to.
"This virus is quite clearly not done with us yet. But we've done incredibly well this year."
8:40am - European Union member states can use Pfizer's antiviral pill Paxlovid in the early stages of a COVID-19 infection even though its full review for regulatory approval has not been completed, the bloc's drugs regulator said on Thursday.
Divisions within the European Union have deepened over curb on travel in a bid to slow the spread of the Omicron variant, with Italy and Greece following Portugal and Ireland in announcing additional restrictions on travellers from other EU states.
New cases of COVID-19 in Britain hit a record high for the second day running on Thursday, as England's Chief Medical Officer warned daily hospital admissions could also hit new peaks due to the fast-spreading Omicron variant.
Britain reported 88,376 new infections, the highest since the start of the pandemic and up around 10,000 since the previous record set on Wednesday.
Meanwhile in the US, new cases have risen nearly 40 percent over the past month to a seven-day average of 121,000 new infections per day. Deaths have risen 18 percent since mid-November to an average of 1300 each day.
The Omicron variant is also spreading rapidly in Ontario, Canada's most populous province, and could overwhelm intensive care units early next month without prompt intervention, a panel of experts said on Thursday.
"This will likely be the hardest wave of the pandemic," said Steini Brown, head of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table.
Here's the latest on the pandemic from around the world overnight.
8:30am - Major differences in how efficiently Omicron and other variants of the coronavirus multiply may help predict the impacts of the new strain, researchers said on Wednesday.
Compared to the earlier Delta variant, Omicron multiplies itself 70 times more quickly in tissues that line airway passages, which may facilitate person-to-person spread, they said. But in lung tissues, Omicron replicates 10 times more slowly than the original strain of the coronavirus, which might contribute to less-severe illness.
A formal report of the findings is under peer review for publication and has not been released by the research team. In a news release issued by Hong Kong University, study leader Dr Michael Chan Chi-wai said: "It is important to note that the severity of disease in humans is not determined only by virus replication" but also by each person's immune response to the infection, which sometimes evolves into life-threatening inflammation.
Dr Chan added: "By infecting many more people, a very infectious virus may cause more severe disease and death even though the virus itself may be less pathogenic. Therefore, taken together with our recent studies showing that the Omicron variant can partially escape immunity from vaccines and past infection, the overall threat from Omicron variant is likely to be very significant."
A structural model of how the Omicron variant attaches to cells and antibodies sheds light on its behavior and will help in designing neutralising antibodies, according to researchers.
Using computer models of the spike protein on Omicron's surface, they analysed molecular interactions occurring when the spike grabs onto a cell-surface protein called ACE2, the virus's gateway into the cell.
Metaphorically, the original virus had a handshake with ACE2, but Omicron's grip "looks more like a couple holding hands with their fingers entwined", said Joseph Lubin of Rutgers University in New Jersey. The "molecular anatomy" of the grip may assist in explaining how Omicron's mutations cooperate to help it infect cells, Lubin added.
The research team also modeled the spike with different classes of antibodies trying to attack it. The antibodies attack from different angles, "like a football team's defense might tackle a ball carrier", with one person grabbing from behind, another from the front, Lubin said. Some antibodies "appear likely to get shaken off" while others are likely to remain effective.
Booster vaccines raise antibody levels, resulting in "more defenders", which might compensate to some extent for "a weaker grip of an individual antibody", Lubin said.
The findings, posted on Monday on the website bioRxiv ahead of peer review, need to be verified, "particularly with real-world samples from people", Lubin said.
"While our molecular structure predictions are by no means a final word on Omicron, [we hope] they enable a faster and more effective response from the global community."
- Reuters
8:20am - Queen Elizabeth has cancelled a pre-Christmas lunch with her family as a precaution while Britain faces a surge in Omicron infections, a Buckingham Palace source said.
"The decision is a precautionary one as it is felt to put too many people's Christmas arrangements at risk if it went ahead.
"While there is regret that it is cancelled, there is a belief it is the right thing to do for all."
England's chief medical officer warned people on Wednesday not to mix with others unless they have to in the run-up to Christmas after Britain reported a record number of daily coronavirus cases.
Britain's 95-year-old monarch spent the majority of the pandemic at Windsor Castle to the west of London. Her husband Prince Philip died in April this year after more than seven decades of marriage.
- Reuters
8:05am - The Government will review its plans to reopen the border to Australia-based Kiwis next month as Omicron, a 'variant of concern', rapidly circulates overseas, Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson said on Friday morning.
New Zealand recorded its first case of the new variant in managed isolation on Thursday. The person, who arrived from Germany via Dubai, tested positive for the strain at the Sudima Christchurch Airport facility.
The Government plans to begin a phased reopening of the international border next month, with fully vaccinated, Australia-based Kiwis the first to be given the green light to return from January 17. However, in light of recent developments, Robertson said the Government will be reviewing its plans based on the latest information available.
Speaking to Newstalk ZB on Friday, he said using the most up-to-date information is crucial as the variant finds a foothold across the Tasman.
"The Prime Minister has indicated we'll have another look in early January," he said.
"Obviously [the variant is] a cause for concern, but it's not a cause for panic."
Robertson said the existing measures at the border, while not foolproof, will help to prevent any further cases of the variant from creeping into the community.
"We've set a framework up to deal with Delta we'll continually look at that," he told Newstalk ZB. "I've got confidence in our systems and we're working closely with the Ministry of Health and what we might need to do to tweak anything to do to be appropriate for Omicron."
He added that localised lockdowns are not off the table entirely under the new 'traffic light' framework, in the event of an outbreak that requires more restrictive measures in order to be quelled.
Regarding booster jabs and whether the recommended six-month period between a second and third dose will be shortened, Robertson said advice will be provided in due course.
"The advice coming to the Ministry of Health is landing and we'll get advice in the next couple of days," he told Newstalk ZB.
7:55am - Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield is urging New Zealanders not to be overly concerned about the arrival of the Omicron variant, noting that the case has been caught at the border.
Speaking to TVNZ's Breakfast on Friday morning, he reiterated that health officials have been "expecting" its arrival in New Zealand.
"We shouldn't be worried about Omicron at this point because we've caught it at the border," he said. "We found it in a managed isolation facility."
Bloomfield said Government officials will discuss the advice he has received in recent days regarding the role booster shots play in increasing protection against the variant. He noted that overseas evidence indicates the third jab plays an important role in the fight against Omicron, boosting immunity and providing greater protection than a standard two-dose course.
"It may be that a shorter interval will ensure that people do get that booster and increase their protection at the right time, in case we get Omicron in the country," he told Breakfast. Currently, people can receive a booster if they had their second shot at least six months prior, but a number of nations have already moved to shorten that period to speed up their booster campaigns.
Regarding the planned reopening of the border to Australian-based Kiwis in January, Bloomfield said that is now up for review.
He also told the programme that localised lockdowns are not entirely off the table - if absolutely necessary.
"What we've learnt over the last nearly two years of this pandemic is you use everything you've got when you need to," he told Breakfast.
7:40am - Studies so far indicate that two doses of an existing vaccine offer only limited protection against Omicron, says Dr Fran Priddy, a researcher at the Vaccine Alliance Aotearoa group.
"In lab tests, there's very severely reduced ability to block Omicron... at least tenfold less than the ability to block [the] Delta [variant]," Dr Priddy told RNZ.
She noted that the existing range of vaccines were produced in response to the first strain of the novel coronavirus, which emerged almost two years ago. The Omicron variant has significantly mutated since that iteration.
However, Priddy said that contracting the virus is not the major issue at hand - how well the vaccines protect against severe illness and death are more important.
At this stage, there is not much reliable data as to whether existing vaccines can reduce the severity of an Omicron infection, but the data that does exist is reassuring - new research indicates the vaccines are around 75 percent effective at preventing hospitalisation.
A study in South Africa indicated the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is rendered less effective against Omicron compared to the Delta variant, but the researchers said the results should be considered preliminary.
A booster dose can provide more protection, Priddy said.
"So [with a] third dose of mRNA [vaccine], like the third dose of Pfizer, your antibody level does go back up - that should be sufficient to block infection," she told RNZ.
Priddy and other experts, including public health expert Michael Baker, want the Government to consider shortening the six-month period between a second dose and a booster jab. The UK has already shortened the period to three months and Australia has reduced it to five. The US is still recommending six months or more, but is also considering a shortened period.
University of Auckland vaccinologist Dr Helen Petousis-Harris said with what we knew so far, she would also like the interval reduced.
"I'd be going more with five months - not too soon. You do really need to give [the vaccine] time. And also we have to be able to manage it logistically as well."
Figures this week from the ministry show Aotearoa has 2.44 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine in storage, and more will continue to arrive. About 350,000 people are as of today eligible for a booster and 184,000 have already received it.
7:30am - An expert is warning that the highly transmissible Omicron variant will likely creep into the community "eventually" given past failures at the border.
Otago University public health professor Michael Baker says New Zealanders should "expect" a case of the Omicron strain, classified as a 'variant of concern' by the World Health Organization, to crop up outside a managed isolation or quarantine facility.
On Thursday, New Zealand recorded its first case of the variant at a managed isolation facility in Christchurch. The person, a new arrival from Germany, is fully vaccinated and touched down on December 10.
"Based on past experience, we do see or did see border failures quite regularly. So yes, we should expect that it would eventually get into the community in New Zealand, unless we took very vigorous efforts to keep it out," Baker told RNZ.
Currently, New Zealanders have to wait at least six months after their second vaccination before being able to receive a booster jab, which tops up immunity against the virus. However, early data indicates that two doses of an existing vaccine do not provide sufficient protection against the Omicron variant, with some experts calling for that six-month period to be shortened.
Baker said even if all travellers have to return to a full 14-day cycle in managed isolation, the more cases of the variant that arrive, the more likely it is to escape.
"I think we need to look very hard about how to turn down the tap of infected people arriving here. This will get very clear in the next week or two, as we get more people arriving here and being tested. I would expect Omicron will start to become very common and probably dominant in the next week or two," he said.
This could mean reducing the number of arrivals from countries with high rates of Omicron, such as the UK, Europe and parts of North America, he said.
7:25am - Kia ora, good morning, and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the COVID-19 outbreak for Friday, December 17.
