New Zealand On Red Alert Amid Imminent Omicron Wave

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has confirmed New Zealand will move to Red alert from midnight Sunday.

The announcement comes as nine cases were detected in Motueka with the Omicron variant, all of whom attended a wedding in Auckland on January 13 along with a funeral, an amusement park and the Sky Tower in the following days.

“That means Omicron is now circulating in Auckland and possibly the Nelson Marlborough region, if not elsewhere,” Prime minister Jacinda Ardern said.

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The Kiwi PM warned that Omicron is now circulating but "we’ll do everything that we can to slow the spread".

"The evidence from overseas suggests [Omicron] moves very quickly," Ardern said. "Red will make a difference."

As a result, the Kiwi government will implement a three-stage approach, in preparedness for 1000 cases a day.

Under red restrictions, businesses and schools remain open, however mask mandates will be enforced. Domestic travel will continue, restrictions will be placed on gathering size, and vaccine passes are required for entry to most non-essential businesses.

In addition, close contacts of cases will be required to self-quarantine for 10 days and follow testing requirements at day five.

Following stage-one which entails contact tracing and testing, including rapid antigen tests, stage-two will be a transition stage, while stage-three will see changes to contact tracing, among other restrictions to be released at a later date, Ardern said.

With the red alert coming into play tonight, Ardern confirmed she and fiancé Clarke Gayford have postponed their wedding.

"I just join many other New Zealanders who have had an experience like that as a result of the pandemic," she said. "Such is life. I am no different to dare I say thousands of other New Zealanders."

More to come.

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