Omicron delays border reopening by six weeks

Cabinet delays border reopening for NZers returning from Australia to self-isolate to end Feb; Gap to booster dose cut to 4 months from 6 months; Vaccination of 5-11 yr olds starts Jan 17

TLDR: The Government says the threat of omicron spreading from Australia has forced it to delay the reopening of the border to residents returning to Aotearoa-NZ by six weeks until the end of February.

Chris Hipkins has outlined the Government response to the threat from the omicron variant. Photo: Getty Images

Covid-19 Minister Chris Hipkins said Australia was expecting Covid case numbers to rise to 25,000 a day by the end of Jan in New South Wales, which made allowing arrivals to self isolate and not go through MIQ just too risky.

He said Cabinet had also decided:

• to accelerate the time between the second vaccine dose and a booster dose from six months to four months to ensure up to 82% of the eligible population can be fully dosed before the end of February when the borders are now scheduled to open somewhat;

• to begin the vaccination programme for 5-11 year olds from Jan 17;

• to extend the time in MIQ for all arrivals from seven days to 10 days;

• to require all eligible border and health workers to get a booster doses;

• to shorten the time for pre-departure tests to enter NZ from 72 hours before departure to 48 hours;

• to treat everyone on an international flight with a positive test to be treated as a close contact; and,

• to use the traffic light system to respond to any omicron incursion and to start with the ‘red’ traffic light setting’.

All of the evidence so far points to Omicron being the most transmissible COVID-19 variant yet and public health advice says that soon, every case that comes into MIQ will be Omicron, Hipkins said.

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Hipkins pointed to the fast-rising spread of omicron in Australia.

“All of the evidence so far points to Omicron being the most transmissible COVID-19 variant yet and public health advice says that soon, every case that comes into MIQ will be Omicron

“But experts still don’t know how severe it is. So while it’s sweeping the globe at a bewildering speed and appears to be the dominant variant, how sick it makes people and the impact it has on health systems is not yet fully understood.”

“With over 70 countries around the world reporting Omicron cases and its high  transmissibility, our plan is to get as prepared as we can by speeding up boosters and strengthening our border to keep Omicron out of the community for as long as possible.” Covid19 Minister Chris Hipkins

Hipkins said the Government had ruled out mandating vaccination for children. He also ruled out including children in the vaccine pass system.

He said the Government had sought advice on requiring all non-New Zealand citizens entering to New Zealand to have had a booster dose before flying.

“To slow the rapid spread we have seen overseas, we are pushing out the start of non-MIQ travel until the end of February 2022. 

“There’s no doubt this is disappointing and will upset many holiday plans, but it’s important to set these changes out clearly today so they can have time to consider those plans.

“COVID-19 keeps throwing new curve balls and we have to respond in a way that continues to protect lives and livelihoods without putting in place restrictions and lockdowns unless absolutely necessary.  

“Waiting till the end of February will increase New Zealand’s overall protection and slow Omicron’s eventual spread.

“With these changes, we’re buying New Zealand as much time as we can, as scientists here and overseas race to get a clearer picture of Omicron.

“In moving to the traffic light system, we signalled that we would be adjusting to more of a reactive stance when it came to protective measures and would apply them when case numbers grew and the health system came under pressure.” Hipkins

Hipkins said omicron has changed that view.

“When it does arrive, we expect that it will spread fast, and that’s what we’re seeing in other places. To slow that spread, we may use the red traffic light settings earlier on. That will give us the best chance to avoid returning to more restrictive alert level settings.

“It is not our intention to move to lockdowns unless absolutely necessary in the event of a widespread outbreak where our health system comes under considerable strain – and even then the strong preference is for the lockdown to be highly targeted.” Hipkins

The Ministry of Health was working with iwi, DHBs, hauora providers, and community organisations to roll out the Pfizer vaccine to children in ways that suit whānau and communities, he said.

“The border continues to be our first line of defence,” Hipkins said.

Homecoming from other countries delayed too

After the news conference I clarified with Hipkins’ advisers what the delay would mean for residents returning from countries other than Australia and non residents coming to Aotearoa-NZ. Before today they were scheduled to be able to arrive and be able to self-isolate from Feb 13 and April 30 respectively. An official told me the Feb 13 date would now move to be in line with the end of Feb date for residents returning from Australia. The April 30 date for non-residents was unchanged, the official said.

Later this afternoon MBIE tweeted that the next MIQ room releases would not be available to Jan 6. They had planned to release 1,500 rooms across Jan, Feb and March at midday today, but that was postponed for 24 hours last night ahead of this afternoon’s announcement.

MBIE @MBIEgovtnz

The next room release has been CANCELLED. At this stage, the next room release will be on Thursday 6 January (NZT). Further information will be provided when it is available.

I welcome further questions and pointers from paid subscribers below to effects and unintended consequences.

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Initial reaction from others

Firstly from scientists

University of Canterbury Immunologist Michael Plank said it was unlikely the traffic lights system, even at red, would be sufficient to prevent rapid spread of the variant if community transmission of omicron became established.

“Rolling out booster doses as quickly as possible is therefore essential to minimising the risk that Omicron overwhelms our healthcare system." Michael Plank

University of Otago Public Health Professor Nick Wilson said he welcomed the cautious approach employed by the Government and in particular the delay in the reopening.

“It might even be best from an economic perspective if it prevents large outbreaks of the Omicron variant in NZ – that then result in people travelling less and avoiding retail and hospitality settings.

"Despite these encouraging moves there are still additional measures that would help. These include: (i) temporarily turning down the tap on international travellers from countries with the worst Omicron outbreaks (at least for 2-3 months); (ii) adding rapid antigen tests at the airport for international travellers coming to NZ; (iii) making further improvements to MIQ facilities in terms of ventilation and avoiding shared spaces such as exercise areas; and (iv) re-designing the Alert Level system so that it can rapidly eliminate any outbreaks of the Omicron variant that arise in the NZ community." Nick Wilson.

Then from politicians

National Covid-19 spokesman Chris Bishop welcomed the reduction in the gap between the second and booster doses to four months from six months, but questioned the plan not to change to the four-month gap until early Jan and said he was disappointed by the delay in the border reopening.

“Why do people need to wait until early January before starting to book a booster after four months? The Book My Vaccine website should be updated immediately to allow people to book after four months.

“The roll-out of vaccination for 5-11 year olds is good news, but has been too slow. A real opportunity to get kids vaccinated in school-based settings before Christmas has been missed. Hundreds of millions of 5-11 year olds’ vaccines have been given worldwide but New Zealand has been slow to approve it and will now be slow to roll it out.” Chris Bishop

Bishop said National had pushed for vaccinated travellers to be subject to different rules to unvaccinated travellers, and for home isolation to be the default setting for people.

“We acknowledge that in the difficult circumstances presented by Omicron, a short delay in ending MIQ to allow as many people to be boosted as possible is necessary, but we should not underestimate the suffering this will cause for many Kiwis offshore.

“The sooner we can return to the plan of allowing fully vaccinated travellers to enter New Zealand without entering MIQ, the better.” Chris Bishop

ACT Leader David Seymour said the Government was imposing a six-week delay without explaining what would be better after the end of Feb, and should have immediately shifted to a four-month gap for eligibility for boosters.

"We know there's no certainty but people want clarity. It's unclear why a six week delay in home isolation is worth it when even Hipkins admits the virus may well escape MIQ anyway.

“Chris Hipkins has told the country that we need to buy time against Omicron, but is happy to wait two weeks before bringing forward boosters. If it’s urgent, they could have simply said ‘from today you can book a booster from four months after your second dose.’ If there is not enough capacity, bookings will be full.’ Isn’t that what we’d want?

“Meanwhile there are no other initiatives to boost New Zealand’s resilience besides needing a test within 48 hours of departing for New Zealand and extending MIQ to 10 days.” David Seymour

Seymour decried a lack of announcements on ICU, hospital capacity or contact tracing capacity.

“How are new treatments coming along, is the Government doing anything other than waiting to boost?

“The home isolation delay also amplifies an inconsistent policy. When Omicron gets out, thousands of people will be allowed to home isolate, because there will be no MIQ capacity for them. Once again we’ll have a double standard where people who’ve tested negative can’t enter their own country because of MIQ requirements -the same MIQ requirements that won't apply to people already in the country who have tested positive.

“Tens of thousands of people will have their hopes dashed, often after waiting an age to be reunited. And yet, there is no logic in the reopening delay. Chris Hipkins accepts the virus will get here and spread rapidly despite MIQ, perhaps as soon as next month. He is buying time at others’ expense. They will pay and we’ll end up in the same place anyway.” David Seymour