Coronavirus: New Zealand says Omicron arrival imminent; Singaporean infected with 2 variants in 8 months
- PM Jacinda Ardern said the government is learning from other nations grappling with Omicron outbreaks as it prepares to manage its own
- Elsewhere, Japan will allow 87 government-sponsored foreign students into the country, making an exception to its entry ban on non-resident arrivals
“We know that with Omicron it is a case of when, not if,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a news conference on Monday in Auckland.
“We’re doing what we can, but I think it would be wrong for us to assume that those border measures will be sufficient. At some point, we will see Omicron in the community.”
The government has delayed a phased reopening of the border to keep Omicron out while it rushes to administer booster vaccination shots and begin inoculating children.
While 93 per cent of adults are now fully vaccinated, the evidence from neighbouring Australia shows that Omicron will still lead to a surge in infections.
That will be a new experience for New Zealand, which managed to eliminate coronavirus from the community in the initial stages of the pandemic. Even though it failed to repeat the feat when the Delta strain arrived in August last year, that outbreak has been kept in check by rising vaccination rates.