The New Zealand Prime Minister addressed a post-Cabinet press conference on Monday.
Mark Mitchell.
New Zealand is one of the few countries that has not had an outbreak of the omicron variant, but Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Thursday that an outbreak was inevitable and the nation would tighten restrictions as soon as possible.
She said that New Zealand wouldn't impose the lockdowns that it has used before.
The stage of the Pandemic is different to what we have dealt with before. "Omicron is more transmissible." It will be harder to keep it out, but it will also be more difficult to control once it arrives. Just like before, when COVID changes, we change.
The nation would move into its "red" setting within 24 to 48 hours after omicron was detected. It would allow businesses to remain open and domestic travel to continue, but would require schools to wear masks and limit crowds to 100 people.
Most of New Zealand is at the "orange" setting, which requires a mask and proof of vaccination, but doesn't limit crowd sizes.
A majority of New Zealanders have had a booster shot. The country has begun giving vaccinations to children.
New Zealand has been able to contain the spread of the variant with an average of 20 new cases each day. There has been an increase in the number of people arriving into the country who have been diagnosed with omicron.
That has put strain on the system and prompted the government to limit access for returning citizens, angering people who want to return to New Zealand.
The leader of the opposition said that Ardern had failed to plan for omicron and had managed to get into the country with less than one rapid COVID-19 test per person.
He said that it was a stunning indictment on the government's lack of planning.
The most important thing that people could do is to get a booster shot, which will reduce the severity of an omicron infection and allow most people to recover at home.
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