The Ministry of Health has announced a major spike and another record day of COVID cases with 2522 new infections on Sunday.
Hospitisaltions have also jumped to a record high with 100 people in the hospital but no one is currently in ICU or HDU.
Meanwhile, the Government has denied reports it is considering building a Parliamentary fence as the anti-mandate protest stretches into day 13 in Wellington.
It comes after sources told the Sunday-Star Times Cabinet was set to consider and approve the building of a fence wrapping around the entire Parliamentary complex.
"Cabinet has no plans to build a fence around Parliament," a Government spokesperson told Newshub.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said on Sunday he had "no idea" how the protest will end.
What you need to know:
- There were 2522 new community COVID cases in New Zealand on Sunday.
- Location of new community cases: 1799 are in Auckland, 188 in Waikato, 111 in Southern, 86 in Bay of Plenty, 76 in Canterbury, 54 in Capital and Coast, 53 in Nelson Marlborough, 41 in Northland, 25 in Hutt Valley, 24 in Hawke's Bay, 14 in Wairarapa, 13 in MidCentral, 12 in Tairāwhiti, 11 in Lakes, nine in Taranaki, three unknown, two in Whanganui and one South Canterbury.
- Number of new cases identified at the border on Sunday: 17 (including 4 historical cases).
- Cases in hospital on Sunday: Total number 100; 45 are in Auckland, 30 in Middlemore, 11 in Waikato, 10 in North Shore, one in Tauranga, one in Rotorua, one in Northland and one in Tairāwhiti.
- The Parliament protest is into day 13 with more people expected to arrive today
- Latest COVID case numbers ar expected at 1pm
- You can see the latest locations of interest here.
Follow Newshub's live updates below - app users, click here.
These live updates are now over
6:00pm - Police say they are taking stronger action to prevent intimidating and abusive behaviour towards members of the public at the Parliament protest.
"Staff have also been instructed to take a zero-tolerance approach to any abuse, intimidation, or violence against members of the public," a spokesperson says.
"There will be an increased police presence around the protest area, especially at the start and end of each school / work day.
"Anyone abusing or intimidating members of the public can expect to be arrested, removed and face charges."
Police also say they are strengthening traffic management and road safety controls around the perimeter of the protest activity.
"Police have today towed and impounded a vehicle after a complaint about burnouts yesterday," the spokesperson says.
"Parked vehicles around the area swelled to approximately 2000 at its peak yesterday with about 800 of those illegally parked. A small number of vehicles were towed from Thorndon Quay, Featherston St and Bowen St yesterday.
"In addition, Police and Council officers undertook ticketing activity for illegally parked vehicles."
The spokesperson says engagement with protest leaders has been "positive", and Police will continue to work with them in good faith to resolve issues.
"In the medium term, we will continue working to free up the networks and infrastructure of the surrounding areas to remove the burden felt by the Wellington public, by bringing the protest back within the parliamentary precinct, and ultimately within the lawful bounds of public protest action, acknowledging this may take some time."
5:00pm - Parliament Speaker Trevor Mallard has asked officials to look into the cost and practicality of fencing the complex to prevent a repeat of the occupation.
Mallard said he asked Parliamentary Service to begin the work on Tuesday - but expected it would take months for a plan to be drawn up.
If approved, Cabinet would then have to sign off on the funding.
The grounds are currently surrounded by low walls that allow free access to pedestrians.
4:00pm - Police have been deployed behind Parliament after rumours protesters were going to launch a human chain in the area, blocking off all access to the building.
3pm - Hospitality New Zealand says domestic travel is at a standstill with forward bookings pointing to accommodation occupancy rates as low as 20 percent for the next three months.
The industry organisation said Auckland locations were operating on average occupancy of less than 20 percent in January, when managed isolation accommodation was excluded, with Wellington averaging less than 30 percent.
"Every cancelled event causes hundreds of cancelled bookings for rooms, dinners and drinks," Hospitality NZ chief executive Julie White said.
"The Government has over-cooked the fear and the health rules. People are fearful to go to their local shops, let alone go to another city.
"Whatever we try to do - no bookings means no business."
Read the full story here.
2:32pm - Over in Australia, Queensland has seen a drop in COVID-19 cases on Sunday with 4265 new infections in the last 24 hours.
The new cases on Sunday are down from Saturday's 4919 infections that were announced.
Queensland Health is reporting two coronavirus deaths, which is down from 10 reported on Saturday.
Hospitalsitions have also dropped with currently 386 people in hospital, down from 414 on Saturday.
There are 38 people in ICU and 34,081 active cases in Queensland.
2:16pm - The National Party leader Christopher Luxon has accused the Government of creating anti-mandate protests due to their COVID rules.
Luxon is calling on the Government to take responsibility for the escalating protests around the country and demonstrate it has a clear strategy to de-escalate.
"The growing occupation of central Wellington includes people showing a flagrant disregard for both the law and other New Zealanders. As the party of law and order, National strongly condemns this behaviour," Opposition Leader Christopher Luxon says.
"But this is a situation entirely of the Government's own making.
"Kiwis are rightly frustrated by Labour's 'make it up as you go' approach to Covid which relies far too heavily on controlling all aspects of everyday life, rather than using tools like rapid antigen tests to manage risk and give Kiwis more personal responsibility.
"After two years of daily briefings the Prime Minister is now conspicuously MIA. Instead she has backed Trevor Mallard, who did not take police advice and whose actions only served to embolden the protestors and inflame the situation.
"And now Labour and their associates are trying to put the blame entirely on the Police Commissioner, despite specifically hiring him because of his 'policing by consent' approach.
"New Zealanders have lost confidence that the Government has a plan to resolve the protest.
"The Government needs to address the underlying frustration many Kiwis have about their approach to Covid and lack of a plan.
"Labour needs to be clear with the public. They need to front and talk through the next steps for Covid. And they need to tell us what criteria they will use to determine when mandates can be removed."
2:14pm - The Ministry of Health has announced eight new 'high risk' locations of interest.
The locations are:
The Lula Inn Auckland CB - Saturday, 12 February from 11:30am to 2:45pm
Doolan Brothers Ellerslie - Sunday, 13 February from 3:30pm to 7pm
Danny Doolan's Auckland Central - Sunday, 13 February from 12am to 2am
Brothers Beer Onehunga - Sunday, 13 February from 2:30pm to 4:30pm
Tarka Restaurant Botany - Sunday, 13 February from 6:30pm to 10:30pm
The Good Home Bar Mount Eden - Sunday, 13 February from 2pm to 6pm
Air New Zealand Flight NZ8322 Nelson to Wellington - Wednesday, 16 February from 7:01pm to 7:26pm
Air New Zealand Flight NZ402 Wellington to Auckland - Friday, 11 February from 6am to 7:05am
The ministry said if you were on the Welling to Auckland Air New Zealand flight and were seated in rows 12, 13, 14, 15 or 16 you are a close contact.
If you were on the Nelson to Wellington flight you are a close contact if you were seated in rows 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.
The ministry says if you are a close contact to "self-isolate for 7 days, test on day 5 after you were exposed at this location of interest. Monitor symptoms for 10 days. Test again if you feel unwell."
For the relevant dates, times and public health advice - and updates to existing locations of interest - click here.
2:03pm - COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins has hit back at ACT leader David Seymours' demand for the Government to ditch vaccine mandates.
Hipkins has slammed Seymour saying he has "flip-flopped" on mandates over the past 12 months.
"It's hard to know what ACT is aiming to achieve here. It looks like a dog-whistle to anti-vaxxers," Hipkins says.
"Since January 22, when the first Omicron case was detected in the community, double vaccinated cases are 10 times less likely to require hospitalisation than unvaccinated cases - 4 percent of unvaccinated cases have required hospitalisation and 0.4 percent of fully vaccinated cases have required hospitalisation.
"Seymour has flip flopped on mandates. In October 2021, he was one of the strongest advocates for them and was urging the Government to bring them in.
"The Government has always been of the view that mandates are a temporary measure to keep people safe, but moving into an Omicron surge, as we are, is not the time to end them."
1:53pm - National's Covid-19 Response spokesperson Chris Bishop says the Government must urgently ramp up the supply and availability of RATs with PCR testing stations across the country becoming increasingly overwhelmed,
"People in Auckland and Waikato are now waiting up to seven days for Covid test results as the system struggles to cope with the surge in case numbers and Kiwis wanting to get tested," Bishop said.
"It's only a matter of time before this is replicated around the country. Despite the Prime Minister's assurances that we have enough testing capacity, that is clearly not the case and things will only get worse without urgent change.
"The first thing they should do is contract Rako Science to offer saliva-based PCR testing. Saliva testing is just as accurate as nasal PCR testing, but the Government's stubborn attitude towards Rako Science is preventing many more Kiwis from getting tested.
"The Government should then allow pharmacies to sell rapid antigen tests and LAMP tests, like Lucira, for people who want to get tested. This is standard practice overseas but the Government is obsessed with limiting access to rapid tests, which it doesn't even have enough of because they didn't get onto ordering them until a few weeks ago.
"People want to do the right thing by getting tested, and now PCR testing centres are clogged because the Government failed to ensure we have enough testing capacity.
"The simple solution is to allow people to buy tests from pharmacies and supermarkets, and allow all businesses to access tests for their workers, not just those deemed 'critical' by the Government's overly bureaucratic Close Contact Exemption Scheme. It isn't rocket science."
1:47pm - A man has set up a petition online to protest against the gathering in Wellington outside Parliament.
James Black, started the petition on Change.org on Monday, with the aim of telling the protesters to go home and showing them they do not have support from the majority of New Zealanders.
"We are witnessing a Jan 6 style attempted takeover of democracy in Wellington by a disparate group of conspiracy theorists, religious cult members, anti-vaxxers, anti mandate believers and flat earthers.
"They decry the lack of freedom and believe the system is corrupt and that they have majority support.
"This petition’s aim is to generate as much support as possible to say:
a) go home
b) you do not have my support
Currently, the petition has received just over 74,000 signatures.
1:16pm - Here is the latest data from the Ministry of Health on the outbreak and vaccination campaign:
COVID-19 vaccine
Due to a database reporting issue, data cannot currently be provided around the COVID-19 vaccine. Work is urgently underway to resolve this and the webpage will be updated as soon as possible.
Vaccination rates for all DHBs (percentage of eligible people aged 12 +)
This information is as of 9am yesterday. As per the data reporting issue, this information will be updated as soon as possible.
- Northland DHB: first doses (90%); second doses (88%), booster doses (66%)
- Auckland Metro DHBs: first doses (97%); second doses (96%), booster doses (62%)
- Waikato DHB: first doses (95%); second doses (93%), booster doses (62%)
- Bay of Plenty DHB: first doses (95%); second doses (93%), booster doses (64%)
- Lakes DHB: first doses (93%); second doses (91%), booster doses (65%)
- 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 (70%)
- Hawke’s Bay DHB: first doses (97%); second doses (95%), booster doses (67%)
- Taranaki DHB: first doses (95%); second doses (93%), booster doses (63%)
- Wairarapa DHB: first doses (97%); second doses (95%), booster doses (71%)
- Capital and Coast DHB: first doses (99%); second doses (98%), booster doses (71%)
- Hutt Valley DHB: first doses (97%); second doses (95%), booster doses (69%)
- Nelson Marlborough DHB: first doses (97%); second doses (95%), booster doses (73%)
- West Coast DHB: first doses (93%); second doses (91%), booster doses (70%)
- Canterbury DHB: first doses (100%); second doses (98%), booster doses (66%)
- South Canterbury DHB: first doses (95%); second doses (94%), booster doses (71%)
- Southern DHB: first doses (98%); second doses (96%), booster doses (71%)
Hospitalisations
- Cases in hospital: total number 100: Northland: 1; North Shore: 10; Middlemore: 30; Auckland: 45; Rotorua: 1; Tauranga: 1; Waikato: 11; Tairāwhiti: 1
- Average age of current hospitalisations: 56
- Cases in ICU or HDU: 0
- Vaccination status of current hospitalisations (Northern Region only, excluding Emergency Departments): Unvaccinated or not eligible (11 cases / 14.4%); partially immunised <7 days from second dose or have only received one dose (2 cases / 2.7%); fully vaccinated at least 7 days before being reported as a case (54 cases / 72%); unknown (8 cases / 10.7%).
Cases
- Seven day rolling average of community cases: 1,447
- Seven day rolling average of border cases: 17
- Number of new community cases: 2,522
- Location of new community cases*: Northland (41), Auckland (1,799), Waikato (188), Bay of Plenty (86), Lakes (11), Hawke’s Bay (24), MidCentral (13), Whanganui (2), Taranaki (9), Tairāwhiti (12), Wairarapa (14), Capital and Coast (54), Hutt Valley (25), Nelson Marlborough (53), Canterbury (76), South Canterbury (1), Southern (111). Unknown (3)
- Number of new cases identified at the border: 17 (including 4 historical cases)
- Location of origin of border cases: Full travel history not obtained (14).
- Number of active community cases (total): 13,785 (cases identified in the past 21 days and not yet classified as recovered)
- Confirmed cases (total): 30,694
* 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): 27,825
- Tests rolling average (last 7 days): 27,211
- Number of Rapid Antigen Tests stock available in New Zealand: 7.5 million (Please note that this number is not updated over the weekend and reflects the number of tests as of Friday.)
1:15pm - The ministry has provided an update on Rapid Antigen Testing:
From Monday morning, rapid antigen tests will be made available at all Auckland testing sites to those who fit the appropriate clinical criteria. The site will determine which test (PCR or a rapid antigen test) is best for you
Access to rapid antigen tests will be expanded further during the coming week.
As the outbreak grows more people will have COVID and there will be more close contacts we need to test. As planned we will now increase the use of RATs in phase 2 and phase 3 of our response in order to relieve pressure on the PCR testing and reserve it for those most likely to have COVID.
As we’ve previously said, only those with symptoms or who have been identified as close contacts of a case, or directed by a health professional to get tested should be turning up at testing sites.
Some important points for the public to be aware of are:
- people who are directed to have a rapid antigen test will be given advice on what to do if they have a positive result. At the current time, they will likely be advised that they need to have a PCR test to confirm the positive result
- Rapid antigen tests are not as accurate as PCR tests at identifying someone early in their illness so if you have a negative rapid antigen test result and symptoms start to develop, you may need to have another test.
- This is also why it is so important that if you are unwell, you must stay home regardless of the test result, which will also help reduce the spread of other viruses.
- Rapid antigen tests will initially be available in Auckland, as we continue to widen access in other high-demand centres around New Zealand. We will provide updates on this rollout over the coming week.
- We have good stocks of RATs (7.3 million) to support the public health response, with a continual supply arriving by airfreight
Testing continues to be one of our best defences against COVID-19. Understandably as case numbers grow, so too does demand on COVID-19 testing sites.
That’s why it’s important to reiterate once again that people do not need to get tested, unless they are unwell with cold or flu symptoms, have been identified as a close contact of a case or have been instructed to do so by health officials.
As this demand has grown, some COVID-19 test results for Auckland and Waikato are currently taking longer to process at laboratories. The use of rapid antigen testing, alongside PCR testing, will improve this process at a time of exceptional demand in Phase 2, provided the testing centre queues are freely available for those who really need a test.
For a full list of testing sites nationwide, visit the Healthpoint website.
1:14pm - The Ministry of Health has announced a major spike and another record day in cases with 2522 new infections and 100 people in hospital on Sunday.
After a drop in cases on Saturday, infections have exploded above 2000 for the first time.
Of the new community infections, 1799 are in Auckland, 188 in Waikato, 111 in Southern, 86 in Bay of Plenty, 76 in Canterbury, 54 in Capital and Coast, 53 in Nelson Marlborough, 41 in Northland, 25 in Hutt Valley, 24 in Hawke's Bay, 14 in Wairarapa, 13 in MidCentral, 12 in Tairāwhiti, 11 in Lakes, nine in Taranaki, three unknown, two in Whanganui and one South Canterbury.
The ministry announced there has been a spike in hospitalisations with 100 people in hospital compared to 76 on Saturday with none in ICU or HDU.
Of the 100 people in hospital: 45 are in Auckland, 30 in Middlemore, 11 in Waikato, 10 in North Shore, one in Tauranga, one in Rotorua, one in Northland and one in Tairāwhiti.
There are 17 new COVID cases recorded at the border in Managed Isolation and Quarantine including four historical cases.
1:09pm - While we wait for the Ministry of Health to release Sunday's daily figures, they have announced six new locations of interest.
The locations are:
Charlie Baxter's Ellerslie -Sunday, 13 February from 1pm to 4pm
Equippers Church Manukau - Sunday 13 February from 9am to 12pm
Equippers Church Youth Group Manukau - Friday, 11 February from 6pm to 8pm
Equippers Church, Manukau - Saturday, 12 February from 12pm to 3pm
Equippers Church Manukau - Sunday, 13 February from 5pm to 9pm
Chapel Bar Ponsonby - Monday, 14 February from 9:30pm to 11:30pm
The ministry asks if you are a close contact to "self-isolate for 7 days, test on day 5 after you were exposed at this location of interest. Monitor symptoms for 10 days. Test again if you feel unwell."
For the relevant dates, times and public health advice - and updates to existing locations of interest - click here.
12:46pm - As usual, the Ministry of Health will release its daily statement with the latest updates on the COVID-19 outbreak at around 1pm.
Stay tuned, as we will publish the newest developments live as soon as the statement is available.
12:09pm - The Ministry of Health has announced six new 'high risk' locations of interest.
The locations are:
Pat's Garage Hillcrest Sunday, 13 February from 2:02pm to 9:30pm
Groove Bar Kingsland Wednesday, 16 February from 4pm to 11pm
Garrison Public House Mount Wellington - Tuesday, 15 February from 3:50pm to 9:50pm
The Birdcage Tavern Freemans Bay - Sunday, 13 February from 3:29pm to 7pm
Jetstar Flight JQ287 Wellington to Christchurch - Monday, 14 February from 8:20am to 9:10am
Jetstar Flight JQ286 Christchurch to Wellington - Friday, 11 February from 6:15am to 7:40am
The ministry says if you were on the flight from Wellington to Christchurch you are a close contact if you were seated in rows 22, 23, 24, 25 or 26.
If you were on the flight from Christchurch to Wellington you are a close contact if you were seated in rows 16, 17, 18, 19 or 20.
The ministry asks if you are a close contact to "self-isolate for 7 days, test on day 5 after you were exposed at this location of interest. Monitor symptoms for 10 days. Test again if you feel unwell."
For the relevant dates, times and public health advice - and updates to existing locations of interest - click here.
11:58am - In world COVID news, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson intends to set out plans to remove self-isolation requirements for people who test positive for COVID-19, his office said on Saturday (local time).
If Johnson follows through on his plans, Britain would become the first major European country to allow people who know they are infected with COVID-19 to freely use shops, public transport and go to work but it would go against the advice of health advisors who think it's a risky tactic.
"While behaviour change following the lifting of restrictions has previously been gradual, a sudden change, such as an end to testing and isolation, has the scope to lead to a return to rapid epidemic growth," SPI-M-O said in a document dated Feb. 2 but released on Friday, citing work done at the University of Warwick.
Johnson said the UK needs to learn to "live with the virus" without "restricting our freedoms".
"COVID will not suddenly disappear, and we need to learn to live with this virus and continue to protect ourselves without restricting our freedoms," Johnson said in a statement.
If Britain does remove COVID self-isolation requirements and replace them with voluntary guidance it would bring the disease in line with how the UK treats most other infections.
The UK COVID vaccination rate is relatively high with 85 percent of the population aged 12 or over having had at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, and two thirds of the population - including the vast majority of those most at risk - have had three.
The news comes after Britain recorded 34,377 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday and a further 128 deaths within 28 days of a positive test, government figures showed, taking total deaths on this measure since the start of the pandemic to 160,507.
The number of cases over the past week was 24.6 percent lower than the week before, while deaths were 22.5 percent lower, as the tide of cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant at the start of the year continues to ebb.
11:40am - The Ministry of Health has announced one new 'high risk' location of interest in Auckland.
The location is:
The Potter's House Church, Otara - Sunday, 13 February from 9am to 10:45am
The ministry asks anyone who is a close contact to "self-isolate for 7 days, test on day 5 after you were exposed at this location of interest. Monitor symptoms for 10 days. Test again if you feel unwell".
For the relevant dates, times and public health advice - and updates to existing locations of interest - click here.
11:30am - In Victoria, they have also recorded a drop in COVID cases with 4867 new infections in the past 24 hours.
The drop in cases comes after 6280 people tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday.
Victoria Health announced on Sunday that there had been nine coronavirus deaths in the previous reporting period, down from 20 announced on Saturday.
Hospitalisations have slightly reduced with currently 358 people in hospital, down from 365 on Saturday, with 51 in ICU and 12 people on a ventilator.
There are currently 46,703 active cases in Victoria.
11:24am - Over in Australia, New South Wales has seen a drop in COVID cases was the state recording 5582 new infections in the past 24 hours.
The drop in cases comes after NSW recorded 7,615 COVID cases on Saturday.
New South Wales Health announced on Sunday that there had been 21 coronavirus deaths in the 24-hour reporting period to 4pm on Saturday, which is up from 12 yesterday.
Hospitalisations have dropped slightly with currently 1280 people in hospital, down from 1297 on Saturday, with 77 people in ICU.
11:17am - The chair of the Maori Authority chair Matthew Tukaki is launching a counter-protest against the gathering in Wellington.
Tukaki said he's "had enough" and is launching the counter-protest because of the "overwhelming" number of Kiwis who have contacted him.
"Today I have decided to launch a counter-protest to the protest in Wellington. I am doing so after the overwhelming number of New Zealanders who have been in touch with me over the last twenty-four hours saying that I have had enough," Tukaki said"
"The vast number of Wellingtonians who are fed up with the disruption to their lives, the abuse, the desecration to the memories of our servicemen and woman.
"This protest is not going to be down at Parliament waving foreign flags or peddling messages from America - this protest will be online and designed to enable everyday New Zealanders to have their say - without confrontation, without intimidation, without the abuse or the threatening behaviour and most importantly, safely.
"Right now this country is fighting Omicron and there is no way I want to put the health of anyone at risk. So this campaign is simple, it's online and it's something each of us can do right now.
The campaign is called #endtheprotest and I am asking New Zealanders to do three simple things:
- Share the image attached to this post
- Use the #endtheprotest every time you post or share it
- Whenever someone wants to debate the issue don't engage them just post the image in reply and the #endtheprotest tag
"I know there are many New Zealanders across this great nation of ours who want to do something but feel helpless. So across each and every social media platform whether it be Facebook or LinkedIn, Twitter or Instagram, TikTok or Snapchat here is your opportunity.
"This isn't about whether the Government is right or wrong - this is about people claiming they speak on our behalf holding us to ransom. I say enough is enough #endtheprotest."
11:05am - The Government has denied rumours that they are planning on building a fence around Parliament as the protest stretches into a 13th day.
A government spokesperson told Newshub that, "Cabinet has no plans to build a fence around Parliament".
This comes after sources told the Sunday-Star Times Cabinet is set to consider and approve the building of a fence wrapping around the entire Parliamentary complex.
10:49am - Two students at Rangiora High School in Canterbury have tested positive for COVID-19.
Principal Karen Stewart alerted parents, caregivers and students of the news through a Facebook post on Saturday.
"Parents and caregivers were texted and emailed earlier today to advise that we were made aware this morning that two of our students have tested as positive cases of COVID-19," Stewart wrote on Facebook.
"We have identified a group of senior students who are most at risk of coming into contact with the positive cases during the infectious period which was Monday 14 February to Thursday 17 February.
"This morning [Saturday] we have gone through a thorough contact tracing process in consultation with the Ministry of Education which has identified students who are close contacts. These students' families have received a specific email informing them of this classification and what action they need to take."
10:30am - The Ministry of Health has announced four new 'high risk' locations of interest in Auckland and New Plymouth.
The locations are:
- Hoppers Garden Bar, Grey Lynn - Saturday, 12 February from 7:15pm to 9:15pm
- The Brooklands Bungalow, Vogeltown - Saturday, 12 February 7pm to 11pm
- The Mermaid Club, Auckland - Sunday, 13 February from 1:15am to 3:30am
- Viaduct Yacht Club, Auckland City - Saturday, 12 February from 9:15pm to 11pm
The ministry asks if you are a close contact to "self-isolate for 7 days, test on day 5 after you were exposed at this location of interest. Monitor symptoms for 10 days. Test again if you feel unwell".
For the relevant dates, times and public health advice - and updates to existing locations of interest - click here.
10:21am - Former senior political advisor to the Labour Government Neale Jones has questioned the story about the government building a fence around Parliament and called on the police to do their "bloody job".
Cabinet is set to consider and approve the building of a fence wrapping around the entire Parliamentary complex, sources told the Sunday-Star Times.
Jones posted on Twitter saying Parliament is "unique" and should be "protected" and not compromised by "anti-vax idiots".
"Surely this story of a fence around Parliament can’t be true. Our free and open Parliament grounds is unique and should be protected. It shouldn’t be compromised by the anti-vax idiots. How about the Police just do their bloody job instead?
10:08am - ACT has called for the Government to "move on from Government vaccine mandates".
ACT leader David Seymour said on Sunday that based on the figures in the past week there is now little difference in the likelihood of a fully, partially, or unvaccinated person testing positive with Omicron.
Here is the full statement:
"Vaccination rates are making little difference to infection rates under Omicron, which means it's time to ask if the benefits of vaccine rules are still worth the costs to individuals, and social cohesion overall," Seymour said.
"Based on new evidence, it may be time to move on from Government vaccine mandates.
"This data does not mean that vaccination is not useful or effective. Vaccination is still your best bet for staying out of hospital, but even strongly pro-vaccine people like me have to confront what new evidence says about infection rates.
"In the eight days from Friday 11-Friday 18, when Omicron cases really took off, there were 347 new unvaccinated cases, 140 new partially vaccinated cases, and 7,085 new fully vaccinated cases. These figures are not reported transparently, and have to be derived from the Ministry of Health Website.
"Of course, there are far more vaccinated than unvaccinated people, so the raw numbers do not tell the full story. For every 100,000 unvaccinated persons, 225 tested positive. For every 100,000 partially vaccinated persons, 204 tested positive, and for every 100,000 fully vaccinated 178 persons tested positive.
"There are a number of possible explanations for why numbers between infection rates for vaccinated and unvaccinated people should appear so similar. For example, vaccinated people might be more trusting of or able to access the healthcare system, and therefore be more likely to take a test than unvaccinated people.
"None of the explanations can really explain the similarity without accepting that vaccination makes a weak difference at best to whether a person tests positive for Omicron, however.
"These new figures show how Omicron is changing the game, even since this time last month. On January 19, the Ministry of Health website reported half of all COVID cases up to that date had been unvaccinated and a quarter partially vaccinated. In the past week, there have been 20 times more vaccinated cases than unvaccinated.
"Those historical figures will be influenced by early stages of the pandemic, when nobody at all was vaccinated. However, it is nearly impossible to know by how much with the data the Ministry of Health lets us have. In any event, the past data does not change the reality we face now, Omicron is changing the numbers.
"These figures are consistent with international evidence. Australia has similar vaccination rates to New Zealand's but has experienced widespread Omicron outbreaks well beyond those who are vaccianted. In the UK unadjusted rates of infection show for every 100,000 vaccinated people, cases are 2-3 times more prevalent than for those with three shots.
"It would be helpful if the Ministry of Health would start transparently publishing data for vaccination rates. At present, they update the cumulative number of vaccinated, partially vaccinated, and unvaccinated cases each day, but the number of new cases each day can only be derived by saving the data and calculating the change from day to day.
"We face enormous mistrust and dissatisfaction with Government due to this kind of poor transparency that suppresses free and open debate. The Government should insist on the Ministry of Health making the data transparent, and even providing analysis so that any confounding variables can also be understood.
"More importantly, it may be that Government policy needs to change direction. It is difficult to argue that there is not widespread transmission amongst vaccinated people. It seems unlikely that the 347 unvaccinated cases infected 7,085 others, around 20 each, but vaccinated people did not infect each other. This is particularly the case given vaccine mandates have largely segregated unvaccinated people from vaccinated people.
"People have been led to believe for over a year that other people being vaccinated would protect them from being being infected themselves. It appears that is no longer true, or at least the effect has been dramatically weakened.
"All of this leads to a simple conclusion. If there is little difference in the rates of infection and spread of Omicron between vaccinated and unvaccinated people, then what is the point of segregation them? From the opposite perspective, if segregation is increasingly costly and undesirable, what sort of difference in infection rates would we require to justify it, and is the difference between 178/100,000 and 225/100,000 enough?
"It is time to weigh up the costs that vaccine requirements are placing on individuals, on workplaces, and on social cohesion, and ask whether policies that force vaccination in various settings are still worth it. The case is becoming stronger by the day that they are not as Omicron spreads between vaccinated and unvaccinated in a way it did not do with earlier variants, and policies designed to prevent unvaccinated transmission are no longer worth it. It's time to move on"
9:48am - The Ministry of Health has announced one new 'high risk' location of interest in Te Puke.
The location is:
Citizens Club RSA, Te Puke - Saturday, 12 February from 6pm to 10:30pm
The ministry asks if you are a close contact to "self-isolate for 7 days, test on day 5 after you were exposed at this location of interest. Monitor symptoms for 10 days. Test again if you feel unwell".
For the relevant dates, times and public health advice - and updates to existing locations of interest - click here.
9:38am - Police Commissioner Andrew Coster told TVNZ's Q&A on Sunday that he has "no idea" how the protest will end.
"I have no idea, I think there are many different ways this could play, but the judgment I'm taking is based on my best assessment, which I think there is a good opportunity to deescalate and to get to a place where the protest can be resolved without the need to bring large scale violence to a crowd of this size," he said.
Coster said that in hindsight the protest "shouldn't have got to this" and police should've gone in on the first night when tents were put up outside Parliament.
But he added Kiwis wouldn't have "accepted" the level of confrontation that would've been required.
If police did use confrontation and "moved in" it would require staff to use batons and tear gas to disperse the crowds, Coster said.
Coster labelled the protest outside Parliament as "unlawful and unreasonable" and "clearly this protest has crossed a line" but said the police focus is on the safest resolution.
"This is a really unpleasant, difficult situation and I'm concerned people are being affected in this way,"
He denied reports that there are some police staff support the protest and said they were getting advice from Ottawa police where another anti-mandate protest has occurred.
"It is incredibly frustrating for those who have done the hard yards to get through these unusual times we have had," he said. "Enforcement has to be there at a point in time...the tactics have to be appropriate for all involved."
When asked about the pressure he was under and if he had the support of the public and Government, Coster said the Police Minister had expressed confidence in him on Saturday and is not considering stepping down.
"I'm focused on the job at hand and that's what people would expect me to do and that is a matter for others," Coster said.
"I think there are a wide variety of views on this but ultimately I will be judged by the history of this and what happens. In the moment I need to make the best decision I can."
9:07am - Over in Australia, hundreds of protesters turned up in Canberra on Saturday rallying against vaccine mandates and COVID restrictions.
Protesters across the ditch have been rallying for three weeks outside Parliament House, but crowds have slowly reduced over the past week.
8:48am - Police have moved to start clearing up the roads near Parliament in Wellington, where protesters have clogged the streets with vehicles for over a week.
But there has also been a significant increase in illegally parked vehicles in the area.
Some streets around Parliament could not be used since people protesting against COVID-19 vaccine mandates clogged the roads with their vehicles, with public transport in the capital also having to be re-routed.
On Thursday, police estimated more than 400 cars, vans and campervans were ensconced in several streets alongside Parliament and on Saturday that estimate grew to 800.
Read the full story here.
8:40am - Kia ora, good morning, and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the COVID-19 Omicron outbreak and the Parliament protest for Sunday, February 20
