Opposition leader Christopher Luxon said Ardern had planned poorly for omicron and had managed to secure into the country less than one rapid COVID-19 test per person. That has put strain on the quarantine system and prompted the government to limit access for returning citizens while it decides what to do about reopening its borders, angering many people who want to return to New Zealand.

But it has seen an increasing number of people arriving into the country and going into mandatory quarantine who are infected with omicron.

New Zealand has managed to contain the spread of the delta variant, with an average of about 20 new cases each day. The country has just begun vaccinating children aged between 5 and 11. The omicron variant of the coronavirus was thought to have been spread by mass public events in late April. That would allow businesses to remain open and domestic travel to continue, but would require schoolchildren to wear masks and limit crowds to 100 people.Ĭurrently most of New Zealand is at the 'orange' setting, which requires some mask wearing and proof of vaccination but doesn't limit crowd sizes.Ībout 93% of New Zealanders aged 12 and over are fully vaccinated and 52% have had a booster shot. Gavin Newsom said there was no reason to assume that future lockdowns were in store for the. But just like before, when COVID changes, we change.'Īrdern said that within 24 to 48 hours of omicron being detected in the community, the nation would move into its 'red' setting. In a briefing Wednesday after the first case of the Omicron variant was reported in California, Gov. 18 from about 10 cases per 100,000 residents a day to 21 cases per 100,000, according to Colfax. 'That is going to make it harder to keep it out, but it will also make it more challenging to control once it arrives. Preliminary reports in San Francisco show that the case rate doubled from Dec. Omicron is more transmissible,' Ardern said. 'This stage of the pandemic is different to what we have dealt with before. Omicron cases tripled in California over the weekend: State health officials said there are 39 confirmed cases of the highly mutated coronavirus variant in California as of Monday. WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - New Zealand is among the few remaining countries to have avoided any outbreaks of the omicron variant - but Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Thursday an outbreak was inevitable and the nation would tighten restrictions as soon as one was detected.īut she also said that New Zealand would not impose the lockdowns that it has used previously, including for the delta variant.

Omicron california lockdown