It has been announced today that the following will take place, in response to COVID-19:

Northland will transition to the Orange setting of the COVID-19 Protection Framework at 11:59pm and the rest of the nation will remain at Orange in preparation for an Omicron outbreak.

The Government will not revert to lockdowns in the event of an Omicron outbreak - instead the country will move to the Red setting within 24 to 48 hours.

It has been reported that thirty-nine new cases have been recorded in the community - 21 in Auckland, 14 in Lakes, two in Hawke's Bay, one in Canterbury and one in West Coast (a historical case).