Covid-19: Five new cases in Rotorua, one in Tauranga

Omicron puts MIQ bookings back on ice, navy vessels set off to help Tonga and a prominent sportsman faces jail time after stealing from his grandfather in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald

There are five new cases of Covid-19 in Rotorua today and one in Tauranga.

Four of the Rotorua cases are linked to previously reported cases one case is still being investigated to determine any links. All cases are isolating at home or in managed accommodation.

Investigations into the Tauranga case are ongoing to determine a link to any known cases.

The case is isolating at home.

There are 24 new cases in New Zealand including 24 in hospital and two in ICU.

One case is in Tauranga Hospital, in ICU.

There are several new locations of interest for the region. Click here.

Cabinet to meet

Cabinet will meet for the first time of the year today at 4pm to discuss an array of Covid-19 matters but the most anticipated will be the review of the current traffic light settings.

The outcome will be announced tomorrow as Labour MPs gather in New Plymouth for a New Year caucus get-together.

Northland is the only region to remain under red restrictions while the rest of the country is at orange.

Overnight it was announced that the upcoming MIQ room release was postponed as the Omicron variant loomed on New Zealand's doorstep.

In a statement, head of MIQ Chris Bunny said there had been a tenfold increase in positive Covid-19 cases at the border compared to December.

Yesterday, director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield indicated that more restrictions were likely to be put in place as the country prepared for the inevitable Omicron outbreak.

Bloomfield said Omicron was a "different beast" from Delta.

Working from home and lowering the number of people allowed at gatherings were all back on the table, but he said the health response wouldn't necessarily be around more lockdowns.

Meanwhile, health authorities are chasing up 10 people on a bus who had been deemed close contacts of the current MIQ Omicron case but were yet to be tested. It came as revelations of a household contact of the border worker had tested positive for Covid-19.

An investigation into how an Auckland MIQ worker became infected with Omicron is continuing as the Government moves to stamp out the virus before it sparks a summer outbreak.

The infected MIQ worker, who is based at Auckland's Stamford Plaza and is fully vaccinated, tested positive for Covid-19 last week during surveillance testing. It was later confirmed they had the Omicron variant.

The Health Ministry said an investigation into the transmission route and testing of staff from the facility continued.