Covid 19 Omicron: New Zealand past the peak and on 'steady plateau' of lingering cases

We're no longer at the peak of the Omicron outbreak but are navigating a steady plateau, a senior health official says.

"There is a small chance that in the future a more aggressive variant may be found in New Zealand," said Prof Ian Town, the Ministry of Health Chief Science Adviser.

"We're still seeing further waves of Omicron around the world."

Town said director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield had assessed the current orange traffic light pandemic response setting as appropriate.

But that would be reviewed next week.

"Obviously Covid is not going away," Town added. "There remains a lot for us to learn."

Professor Ian Town says there is still much to be learned about Omicron and its variants. Photo / Mark Mitchell

It was still unclear which of the current Omicron variants was most likely to cause severe illness.

The ministry's lead science adviser Dr Fiona Callaghan said the BA.2 variant was currently responsible for the vast majority of reported community cases.

And the likelihood of catching a new variant even after previously falling ill with another Omicron subtype was also still not known, health officials said.

Kirsten Beynon, the ministry's chief testing adviser, said the Covid-19 elimination approach was over but it was important to monitor case numbers and any new variants.

She said open international borders would bring new variants to the country.

Today, 7050 new community cases of Covid-19 were reported nationwide.

Asked if New Zealand was still at the peak of the outbreak, Town said the country was instead on a "steady plateau".

Meanwhile, Bloomfield appeared to have recovered after being diagnosed with Covid-19 twelve days ago.

"He seems to have made a remarkable recovery. I was talking to him just a few moments ago. He's back in New Zealand and, I gather feeling pretty well," Town said.

Bloomfield tested positive while attending the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland.

He went into self-isolation in Geneva and the diagnosis delayed his return to New Zealand.

At least 1.2 million Covid-19 cases have been reported in New Zealand since the pandemic started.

Officials and health experts have repeatedly said the real number of cases is likely to be much higher.