New Zealand continued its journey into uncharted COVID-19 territory on Thursday with a record 1573 cases, prompting one expert to warn we could see daily numbers as high as 10,000 in March.
The anti-mandate protest is in its 11th day and shows no signs of ending soon, despite police threats to start towing cars. Speaker Trevor Mallard said there will not be any dialogue with protesters currently occupying Parliament and surrounding areas until "the protest returns to one within the law".
"[This includes] the clearing of all illegally parked vehicles that are blocking streets, the removal of unauthorised structures, and the cessation of the intimidation of Wellingtonians," he says.
"We note that there is a history of Parliamentarians attending peaceful protests or hearing from the leaders of groups who are at Parliament peacefully."
What you need to know:
There were a record 1573 new community COVID cases in New Zealand on Thursday
Location of new community cases: 1140 are in Auckland, 143 in Waikato, 49 in Nelson Marlborough, 35 in Lakes, 35 in Southern, 31 in Northland, 30 in Wairarapa, 29 in Bay of Plenty, 22 in Hutt Valley, 20 in Capital and Coast, 11 in Whanganui, eight in Taranaki, eight in Tairāwhit, seven in Canterbury, three in MidCentral and two in Hawke's Bay.
Number of new cases identified at the border on Wednesday: 15
Cases in hospital on Wednesday: Total number 63; 8 are in Auckland, 22 in Middlemore, 4 in North Shore, three in Tauranga, three in Waikato, one in Rotorua, one in Wellington and one in Tairawhiti.
A "small number" of police HQ staff have tested positive for COVID-19.
NZ moved to phase 2 of the Government's Omicron plan on Tuesday night.
You can see the latest locations of interest here.
The Ministry of Health will be giving an up date on the latest case numbers at 1pm.
5:52pm - COVID-19 test results are taking longer to process due to an increase in demand at community testing centres across Auckland.
Aucklanders are being told by the Northern Region Health Coordination Centre (NRHCC) to expect delays and not to call Healthline or the laboratories to check the status of a test result.
Matt Hannant, Director of Operations at NRHCC said: "There is still high demand at community testing centres in Auckland as case numbers rise, and we do understand some people are anxious at this time.
"However, this is putting significant pressure on laboratories and means that while some results are being returned within 48 hours, an increasing number are taking up to 5 days.
"We are advising people who have not yet been notified of a result to stay home until they receive a negative result. Healthline and the laboratories are not able to provide information about test result status.
"We are asking everyone to follow the health advice and help us ensure the right people get access to testing. If you have no symptoms of COVID-19 and do not meet any other criteria, you do not need to be tested and may be turned away from testing services."
Currently, the only people who need to be tested are those who:
have COVID-19 symptoms (e.g. a fever, new or worsening cough, sore or scratchy throat, shortness of breath, sneezing and running nose);
have had a positive Rapid Antigen Test;
are required to have a test under a mandatory testing order (e.g. a border or MIQ worker); or
have been told to get a test by a Health Official
Close contacts of someone who has COVID-19 should also be tested:
Household contacts on a 10-day isolation pathway only need to be tested on Day 8. Day 3 testing is no longer a requirement in Auckland.
Non-household close contacts on a 7-day isolation pathway only need to be tested on Day 5.
5:03pm - Groups involved with the protests in Wellington have sent an email to media apologising for the abuse journalists have faced.
4:45pm - Aucklanders are being urged to get their boosters this weekend.
The Northern Region Health Coordination Centre (NRHCC) says nearly 700,000 locals have been boosted so far.
"Samoa Tutu Fa’atasi is holding a two-day vaccination event today and tomorrow at Southmall in Manurewa, where people over 18 can not only get their booster dose if they’re due but get their children aged 5 to 11 immunised against COVID-19," NRHCC said in a statement.
"There is also a large tamariki-focussed drive-through involving more than 20 schools taking place in Mangere on Saturday."
These pop up clinics are operating over the weekend:
- Samoa Tutu Fa'atasi, Fri 18 Feb, 12pm-6pm, and Sat 19 Feb, 9am-4pm, 185/201 Great South Road, Manurewa (Southmall)
- Māngere Mass Schools event, Sat 19 Feb, 12pm-6pm, 10 Hain Ave, Māngere (Māngere East Hawkes Rugby League Club)
- Rally Your Village #Culture, Fri 18 - Sat 19 Feb, 12pm - 6pm, Ōtara Carpark, Newbury Street Side
- Tamariki Event West Auckland, Mon 21 Feb, 5pm - 8pm, Trusts Stadium, 65-67 Central Park Drive, Henderson
People can also walk in or drive up to all community vaccination centres, and also book in with GPs and pharmacies.
4:27pm - There are several new locations of interest including flights and a popular Auckland bar.
The locations include:
- Fogo Brazilian BBQ, Queenstown STAFF ONLY - Tue 8 Feb 12:00pm - 11:00pm
- Flight JQ299 Auckland to Queenstown - Sun 13 Feb 6:45pm - 8:02pm
- Flight JQ241 Auckland to Christchurch - Sun 13 Feb 8:20pm - 9:45pm
- Flight NZ0600 Queenstown to Wellington - Thu 10 Feb 11:15am - 12:15pm
- Flight NZ8262 Wellington to Tauranga - Tue 8 Feb 7:15pm - 8:30pm
- Headquarters Viaduct Auckland Central - Fri 11 Feb 5:00pm - 10:00pm
- Flight NZ675 Auckland to Dunedin - Mon 14 Feb 12:45pm - 2:45pm
- Flight NZ523 Auckland to Christchurch - Tue 15 Feb 8:00am - 9:30am
4:03pm - The Ministry of Health has added several new high risk locations of interest to the list.
They include:
Nesian Fitness Otahuhu - Fri 11 Feb 4:00pm - 9:00pm
Flight NZ481 Auckland to Wellington - Sun 13 Feb 3:00pm - 4:15pm
Flight NZ0600 Queenstown to Wellington- Thu 10 Feb 11:15am - 12:15pm
Head of Harbour Regatta Pupuke Lake Milford - Sat 12 Feb 6:15am - 5:00pm
Flight NZ675 Auckland to Dunedin - Mon 14 Feb 12:45pm - 2:45pm
Flight NZ523 Auckland to Christchurch - Tue 15 Feb 8:00am - 9:30am.
3:40pm - Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association (VUWSA) have launched a petition calling for the relocation of anti-mandate protesters that are occupying one of the university's campuses.
The petiton launched on Wednesday asking "Give our campus back" has received over three thousand signatures.
VUWSA president Ralph Zambrano told Newshub the campus has been occupied for eleven days now and with trimester one just a week away the campus needs to be cleared.
"We have not seen any movement or any reduction in numbers of the occupiers at Pipetia campus."
Zambrano said the universities' law, commerce, business and government faculties will be affected if the campus isn't cleared by February 28.
"Thousands of students who will not be able to access the campus that they are paying for."
"We want to see action now which is why we have launched the petition," Zambrano added.
The full petition is here
3:10pm - The Head Of Harbour regatta at Lake Pupuke, Prego restaurant in Auckland and a number of flights are the high-risk latest locations of interest.
Click here for more details.
2:50pm - Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says he hasn't abandoned Wellingtonians and is trying to resolve the situation.
2:41pm - Full police statement on the protest:
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says negotiation and de-escalation is the only safe, and therefore most desirable, way to resolve the Wellington protest.
“Police’s current assessment of the situation is that any enforcement action by Police runs a serious risk of much wider harm than the protest is presently creating.
"We continue to carefully navigate our options to reopen the roads, but the most desirable way to end this safely, is to encourage open communication channels.
“Yesterday’s statement from the Speaker of the House has provided a window of opportunity for protesters who wish to have their views heard by Parliament, to clear the roads and restrict the protest to Parliament grounds.
"Police has had constructive engagement with some key protest leaders following the release of the statement and our focus is to deepen those discussions.
“In the current circumstances, enforcement action taken by Police runs the real risk of injury to the public, escalation in numbers of people, and a transition away from a largely peaceful protest to violence.
"In our assessment the only safe option at the present point in time is a continued focus on de-escalation.
“As the protest at Parliament enters its 11th day, Police continues to make progress in engaging with key protest groups.
“While there were no incidents of note overnight, Police remain concerned at the road blockages caused by protest vehicles, and the inability of emergency services to access through roads.
“The number of people, structures and vehicles has continued to grow over the past 24 hours.
"Police also anticipate a significant number of people joining the protest over the weekend.
“We recognise the ongoing impact from the protest, particularly on residents and users in the surrounding area.
"Police has increased its patrols and will maintain a highly visible, reassurance presence.
“Today we will be putting in place a traffic management plan to control vehicle numbers to ensure that fire and ambulance vehicles are able to access the protest site.
"The option to move vehicles to Sky Stadium remains open and we encourage people to make greater use of this so that those who live and work in the area can go about their lawful business unimpeded by the protest activity.
“Police will continue to focus on keeping the peace, maintaining safety and engaging with the protestors over the coming weekend.
“I want to again acknowledge our staff, many of whom have been deployed at short notice, for what has been a challenging assignment.
"They have conducted themselves in an incredibly professional and reassuring manner."
2:30pm - Andrew Coster says the most desirable way to end the protest is through de-escalation and reaching an agreement with the protesters.
He says enforcement action runs the risk of causing injury to both protesters and the public.
2:20pm - A group of MPs, mayors, councillors and school principals in the Wellington region have issued a joint statement pleading for "illegal protest activities" around Parliament to end.
The joint statement on behalf of Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson, who is MP for Wellington Central, says the people of Wellington "have had enough of this illegal activity, harassment and disruption".
"We the undersigned ask that the current illegal protest activities in and around the Parliament precinct end immediately. There is a right to peaceful protest in New Zealand that it is important to uphold. However this protest has gone well beyond that point," it reads.
"Those who live, work and go to school and university have been subjected to significant levels of abuse and harassment when attempting to move about in the area. There has been intimidation to Wellingtonians and city workers, and some residents have reported being too frightened or distressed to leave their homes."
Full story here
2:00pm - There are more high risk locations of interest including a bar in Auckland's CBD, click here for the latest list.
1:40pm - Auckland as expected has the highest number of new cases - 1384 on Friday.
The rest are spread across the country with 13 in Northland, Waikato 155, Bay of Plenty 58, Lakes 9, Hawke’s Bay 17, MidCentral 3, Whanganui 11, Taranaki 9, Tairāwhiti 8, Wairarapa 5, Capital and Coast 28, Hutt Valley 50, Nelson Marlborough 60, Canterbury 35, South Canterbury 7, Southern 77.
1:30pm - The full Ministry of Health statement:
Nearly 370,000 booster doses were administered over a successful Big Boost week, pushing the total number of boosted people past 2 million.
The Ministry of Health would like to thank everyone who has gone out to get a booster dose, and staff at vaccine clinics who have worked tirelessly to help protect New Zealand against COVID-19.
We’re continuing to see tens of thousands of people going to get their booster each day. Yesterday, 35,903 booster doses were administered across the motu.
The booster dose is critical in our fight against the Omicron variant, which is spreading around the country.
Getting the booster dose greatly reduces your chances of getting severely ill and requiring hospital care if you test positive for COVID-19, so if it’s been three months since your last dose, please book your booster today.
To continue to encourage booster uptake, we are now reporting the percentage of the eligible population who have received a booster by DHB region.
It’s also fantastic news that more than 90% of Māori aged 12 years and over in the MidCentral DHB region have now been full vaccinated, becoming the fifth DHB area in Aotearoa to achieve this milestone.
Testing reminder
We are continuing to experience high demand at COVID-19 testing sites, including from asymptomatic people who are seeking tests for their own reassurance. It’s very important that you only get tested if you have cold or flu symptoms, have been identified as a close contact of a case, or have been asked to get tested by a health official.
Unnecessary testing is resulting in long waits at testing centres and could also delay results for those who urgently need them.
Some COVID-19 test results are taking longer to process at laboratories due to an increase in demand at Community Testing Centres, particularly across the Auckland region.
Some results are being returned within 48 hours, but others are taking longer. People are required to stay home until they receive a negative result.
Aucklanders are being advised to expect these delays and not to call Healthline to check the status of a test result. Healthline is not able to provide this information.
For a full list of testing sites nationwide, visit the Healthpoint website.
Scanning matters
We would like remind everyone that every scan on the NZ Covid Tracer App counts.
The App is a vital part of our Omicron response as we move to Phase 2.
Keeping a record of where you have been will enable you to quickly identify if you may have been exposed to COVID-19 and quickly contact your contacts if you become a case – this will help to minimise the spread of Omicron.
Keeping Bluetooth enabled also helps to anonymously protect people you’ve been near.
Anyone who needs to make a QR code poster for a place, private event or business, can do so here.
If you test positive for COVID-19
If you test positive, you will get a text with a link to the digital contact tracing form to complete your case investigation as well as information regarding self-isolation and general advice for cases. It is important if you are a case that you complete the contact tracing form as soon as possible.
Most cases can safely isolate at home, and complete the digital contact tracing form to notify the close contacts, without having to talk to health staff.
In Phase 2 of the Omicron response, we are using digital tools to ensure that health resources focus on managing vulnerable cases and high-risk exposure events.
In most instances you will not receive a phone call unless public health need further information.
We are asking people to please be patient as contact tracing teams may not be in contact immediately, and it could take a few days before they are able to speak with you.
In the meantime, you should follow the advice provided in the text message.
COVID-19 vaccine update
- Vaccines administered to date (percentage of eligible people aged 12 and over): 4,056,892 first doses (96%); 3,989,873 second doses (95%); 2,081,556 booster doses (62%).
- Vaccines administered yesterday: 2,274 first doses; 1,396 second doses; 1,791 paediatric doses; 35,903 booster doses.
- Māori (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 517,278 first doses (91%); 494,800 second doses (87%).
- Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 279,657 first doses (98%); 273,000 second doses (95%).
- Paediatric vaccines administered to date (percentage of 5-11-year-olds): 221,462 first doses (46%)
- Māori (percentage of eligible people aged 5-11): 31,493 first doses (27%)
- Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people aged 5-11): 18,454 first doses (37%)
Vaccination rates for all DHBs (percentage of eligible people aged 12 +)
- Northland DHB: first doses (90%); second doses (88%), booster doses (65%)
- Auckland Metro DHBs: first doses (97%); second doses (96%), booster doses (61%)
- Waikato DHB: first doses (95%); second doses (93%), booster doses (62%)
- Bay of Plenty DHB: first doses (95%); second doses (93%), booster doses (63%)
- Lakes DHB: first doses (93%); second doses (91%), booster doses (64%)
- MidCentral DHB: first doses (97%); second doses (95%), booster doses (68%)
- Tairāwhiti DHB: first doses (93%); second doses (90%), booster doses (65%)
- Whanganui DHB: first doses (92%); second doses (90%), booster doses (69%)
- Hawke’s Bay: first doses (97%); second doses (95%), booster doses (66%)
- Taranaki DHB: first doses (95%); second doses (93%), booster doses (62%)
- Wairarapa DHB: first doses (97%); second doses (95%), booster doses (71%)
- Capital and Coast DHB: first doses (99%); second doses (98%), booster doses (70%)
- Hutt Valley DHB: first doses (97%); second doses (95%), booster doses (68%)
- Nelson Marlborough DHB: first doses (97%); second doses (95%), booster doses (72%)
- West Coast DHB: first doses (93%); second doses (91%), booster doses (69%)
- Canterbury DHB: first doses (99%); second doses (98%), booster doses (65%)
- South Canterbury DHB: first doses (95%); second doses (94%), booster doses (70%)
- Southern DHB: first doses (98%); second doses (96%), booster doses (70%)
Hospitalisations
- Cases in hospital: total number 73: North Shore: 3; Middlemore: 28; Auckland: 28; Rotorua: 2; Tauranga: 2; Waikato: 7; Wellington: 1, Tairawhiti: 1; MidCentral: 1
- Average age of current hospitalisations: 57
- Cases in ICU or HDU: 1
- Vaccination status of current hospitalisations (Northern Region only, excluding Emergency Departments): Unvaccinated or not eligible (8 cases / 14.9%); partially immunised <7 days from second dose or have only received one dose (2 cases / 3.7%); fully vaccinated at least 7 days before being reported as a case (42 cases / 77.8%); unknown (2 cases / 3.7%).
Cases
- Seven day rolling average of community cases: 1,051
- Seven day rolling average of border cases: 12
- Number of new community cases: 1,929
- Location of new community cases*: Northland (13), Auckland (1,384), Waikato (155), Bay of Plenty (58), Lakes (9), Hawke’s Bay (17), MidCentral (3), Whanganui (11), Taranaki (9), Tairāwhiti (8), Wairarapa (5), Capital and Coast (28), Hutt Valley (50), Nelson Marlborough (60), Canterbury (35), South Canterbury (7), Southern (77).
- Number of new cases identified at the border: 18
- Location of origin of border cases: India (2), Malaysia (2), Pakistan (1), Qatar (1), Full travel history not obtained (12).
- Number of active community cases (total): 9,874 (cases identified in the past 21 days and not yet classified as recovered)
- Confirmed cases (total): 26,544
* Please note, the Ministry of Health’s daily reported cases may differ slightly from those reported at a DHB or local public health unit level. This is because of different reporting cut off times and the assignment of cases between regions, for example when a case is tested outside their usual region of residence. Total numbers will always be the formal daily case tally as reported to the WHO.
Tests
- Number of tests total (last 24 hours): 32,894
- Tests rolling average (last 7 days): 25,567
- Number of Rapid Antigen Tests stock available in New Zealand: 7.5 million
1:20pm - There are 1929 new cases of COVID-19 in the community today the Ministry of Health reports.
1:00pm - The Ministry of Health has issued an infringement notice to a Dunedin eye surgeon for seeing patients while unvaccinated.
Dr Deepak Gupta was issued the notice for breaching clause 7 of the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Vaccination) Order 2021, following complaints investigated by the Ministry. Health practitioners, including medical doctors, can only offer in person health services if they are vaccinated for COVID-19 in accordance with the Order.
The infringement notice has a fee of $4,000.
At the time of the offending, Dr Gupta was registered as a medical practitioner with the Medical Council of New Zealand. Dr Gupta’s registration was cancelled at his own request as at 25 January 2022, which means he is no longer able to practice as a medical practitioner in New Zealand.
12:50pm - The medical director of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, Dr Bryan Betty has called on the Government to stop scaremongering over the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
In an interveiw with Chris Lynch, Dr Betty said Omicron is mainly cold-like illness and probably less severe than flu.
"Omicron is highly infectious, and so a lot of people will come down with it, but the majority of people will have mild symptoms or no symptoms at all, and so it is very different from the Delta situation," Dr Betty said.
"The scaremongering and the fear factor is causing a huge amount of resource being unnecessarily being taken up in our health system, and in some circumstances, people are suffering dire consequences due to their inability to access urgent healthcare."
12:20pm - The Council of Trade Unions President Richard Wagstaff has release a statement callling for an end to the protest in Wellington.
"The NZCTU understands that the right to participate in protest actions is a fundamental element of freedom of expression and a sign of a healthy and functioning democracy. The NZCTU proudly upholds and exercises these rights to protest in NZ.
"The current protest in and around the Parliament precinct however is not simply about the right to protest and we do not support it continuing, nor do we support the basic anti-mandate call being made by the protestors.
"We are concerned by the undue ongoing disruption it is causing workers and their families, including school children and students. The protest is having a negative impact on workers in the vicinity being able to do their jobs safely, and without abuse.The protest has involved harassment of the public, it has prevented workers from moving around and from accessing public transport, it has blocked roads and put emergency services at risk.
"We are further concerned at the tone of much of the protest, calling for violence against our elected representatives and the media. Let alone the conspiracy theories and unscientific assertions being circulated in an effort to undermine our public health response. These are not actions consistent with a free and open democratic society.
"We therefore ask that the protest at the Parliament precinct end immediately," Wagstaff said.
12:00 - Capital and Coast District Health Board says a ward has been closed after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19.
"A member of staff has tested positive for COVID-19, and is isolating at home, after attending a private event. The staff member worked a shift on a ward at Wellington Regional Hospital before testing positive – however they did not have symptoms, wore a mask, and followed all of our usual safety precautions. A number of other staff from the ward attended the same event and are currently under symptom watch," they said in a Facebook post.
"We are confident that the risk of infection to patients and others on the ward is very low. Our Infection Prevention & Control team has identified patients as casual – not close – contacts. We are therefore monitoring patients for symptoms and will test relevant patients over the coming days.
"As a precaution, we have closed the ward to visitors – unless by special arrangement – over the coming days. Anyone who visited before the ward closed need not be alarmed – they will have worn a mask, and the risk of exposure is extremely low. However, they should be alert for COVID-19 symptoms get tested if they have any. Information about COVID-19 and its symptoms is publicly available on the Ministry of Health website."
11:30am - The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists Toi Mata Hauora fully says it fully supports planned strike action by 10,000 DHB workers who belong to the Public Service Association.
The workers, who include a very broad range of health professionals such as contact tracers, lab workers and technicians, have voted to hold two 24-hour strikes next month, after 15 months of failed negotiations with DHBs. They are calling for better pay along with action on safe staffing and retention.
"As the union representing senior hospital doctors and dentists our members know how valuable these workers are and clearly see the pressures they are under," says ASMS Executive Director Sarah Dalton.
"The fact they have been pushed into strike action is a reflection of the utter frustration with the DHBs’ and Government’s attitude to health workers’ pay and conditions."
11:00am - A poll by Stuff may have found 30 percent of Kiwis support the protest at Parliament but the Dominion Post has a different message from Wellingtonians.
The newspaper tweeted its Friday front page which says it all.
10:45am - RNZ is reporting one in ten patients at Middlemore Hospital is testing positive for COVID-19. New patients are given rapid antigen tests even if they are not showing symptoms.
Middlemore Hospital head of emergency department Dr Vanessa Thornton told Morning Report that trend had continued over the week, and the hospital expected that.
"It is slowly increasing, but it will be increasing more dramatically over probably the coming weeks, one would think ... as predicted in many of the modelling processes that have occurred, and we have our own epidemiologist that looks on a day-to-day basis and we're expecting the cases to increase across the next few weeks."
10:15am - David Seymour has weighed in on teachers not being deemed as critical workers and so not getting access to rapid antigen tests.
“The Government is all over the place when it comes to rapid antigen tests for teachers and it’s time for clarity," Seymour said in a statement.
“Teachers have been told they are not classified as critical workers and therefore don’t have access to RATs. But this morning Andrew Little said if they are close contacts they want them to have access.
"On Tuesday, every principal in New Zealand got an email from the Ministry of Education saying teachers are not eligible for the Close Contact Exemption Scheme, or RATs, unless they were teaching children of critical workers. On Wednesday, Ayesha Verrall told Parliament teachers could access the scheme. Now Andrew Little says they should access the scheme.
"Little said this morning 'there’s a little bit of confusion about teachers and what have you.' This must be the understatement of 2022.
"He went on to say 'If the message isn’t getting through we have to take responsibility for that.'
"I agree. Take responsibility. Today Little and Chris Hipkins need to clearly communicate to teachers whether they are critical and what access they will have.
"The Government should legalise any test that can be used in Australia for immediate importation. At present Australia allows 26 different types of home use test and 67 point of care tests. We should simply say tomorrow that New Zealanders are free to import any type of test approved in Australia."
09:45am - The Big Boost week that ended on Wednesday saw 369,990 people get boosted meaning over 2 million eligible Kiwis have now had their third jab, but COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said there is still a way to go.
"That’s a significant contribution to the 748,351 people given boosters in the first 17 days of February, and means we are on track to administer over 1.25 million boosters for the month,” Hipkins said.
"If we keep this up, by the end of February we will have boosted around 77 percent of eligible New Zealanders.
"That’s a good result, but we can do more – I urge everyone to get their booster as soon as they are due. It is the best thing we can do to combat Omicron and protect ourselves, our whānau, and our communities.
"The evidence is clear that a booster dose provides a very high level of protection against severe disease or hospitalisation from the Omicron variant. The evidence also suggests the booster dose offers some protection against getting Omicron or transmitting it to others.
"Two doses was effective against Delta but you need the booster for Omicron.
"I want to thank vaccination teams across the country who are pulling out all the stops to make it as easy as possible for people to get boosted."
09:20am - The Government has outlined more support for people self-isolating today.
Minister for Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni said 197 extra community connectors will be employed along with extra support for foodbanks.
"With Omicron cases increasing it is important whānau have the support they need to self-isolate and stop the spread of the virus," Sepuloni said.
"In recent weeks we have seen an over 60 percent increase in people with no existing MSD relationship needing support, so it’s timely for us to be increasing the welfare support provided through the Care in Community approach.
"As at 6 February 2022, MSD has received 7,911 referrals under the Care in the Community welfare support response. MSD is currently supporting 1,823 of those referrals as they are still within their self-isolation period. With more cases every day we know the number of whānau needing support will only increase.
"While the vast majority of people who have to self-isolate will not require support, we know for some whānau this will be a difficult time and that there will be need for extra assistance.
"The Care in the Community welfare approach is already responding effectively to meet the needs of people and whānau while in self-isolation. Today’s boost will help provide stability and continuity for them and their whānau, as well as social service organisations and community providers working hard to serve their community."
09:00am - National's Simon Bridges believes the Government needs to outline how it will de-escalate the volatile anti-vaccine protest at Parliament, comparing its current approach to "Dad's Army… without the army".
Bridges, the former National Party leader and current finance spokesperson, told AM on Friday that he doesn't believe the protesters are going anywhere.
"They're pretty organised. What Jacinda Ardern and David Parker should be doing is giving us a sense of how they are going to just de-escalate this," he said.
"At the moment, it does feel a bit, I'm sorry David, Dad's Army. Actually, without the army. I think we deserve a really clear sense of what is going to happen here from the Government."
Read the full story here
08:30am - A poll by Horizon Research for Stuff has found around 30 percent of Kiwis support the protest at Parliament. Sixty-one percent of people polled opposed the protest and 9 percent didn't know.
While most people polled did not agree with the protest, the number who did may surprise politicians.
Last week Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she didn't believe the protest was reflective of what the rest of New Zealand felt:
"I've been in Parliament for over a decade, I've seen a number of protests in my time of different sizes. This is certainly not the largest I've seen," Ardern said.
"A lot of emotion in those protests. But I'm still reminded that, relative to the people that are at Parliament now, on the very day that they're there, tens of thousands of people went out and got vaccinated.
"It is not reflective of where the rest of New Zealand is right now. All of us want to actually move on. We're working very hard to put ourselves in the best possible position to do that."
08:00am - Health Minister Andrew Little on Thursday was blindsided by the news 10,000 healthcare workers will go on strike.
Those going on strike include contact tracers and lab workers who carry out COVID-19 testing, saying they've had enough of being disrespected by their employers.
There'll be two 24-hour strikes on March 4 and 18 - when the Omicron outbreak could be at its peak.
"If we go on strike, COVID testing will be delayed. We need to be listened to by the Government and we need to be appreciated for all the work that we do," a laboratory technician called Sue told Newshub.
But Little was blindsided when asked about it.
"I'm not familiar with exactly what you're talking about so I'm reluctant to comment on that," he says.
"You've ambushed me, I'm sorry, you've ambushed me and I'm not familiar with that."
07:50am - Protesters in Wellington are going to be joined by Sir Russell Coutts who says he will join the anti-COVID vaccine mandate protests at Parliament.
Sir Russell says he's not "anti-vaccine" and is COVID-immunised himself, but is against "forced vaccinations".
"I'm heading to Wellington next week to join the protest," Sir Russell wrote on Facebook. "It's the first time I've ever felt compelled to join a protest."
07:40am - Professor Michael Baker told the Herald the current Omicron outbreak could peak in March.
"[It has been] three weeks since community transmission was really established in New Zealand and we saw that initial uptick in cases," Baker told the New Zealand Herald.
"The moving average of cases has not deviated from a steeply rising exponential curve where numbers are doubling maybe every five days roughly, give or take a day or two.
"If that trend continued from the current numbers, we could be hitting 10,000 cases a day by early March," Baker told the Herald.
07:30am - Kia ora, good morning, and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the COVID-19 Omicron outbreak and the Parliament protest for Friday February 18.
