New Zealanders are set to face new COVID-19 restrictions after nine cases of the Omicron variant were detected in a single family who flew to Auckland for a wedding earlier this month, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Sunday. The so-called red setting of the country's pandemic response includes heightened measures such as required mask wearing and limits on gatherings. Ardern stressed "red is not lockdown," noting that businesses can remain open and people can still visit family and friends and move freely around the country. New Zealand had been among the few remaining countries to have avoided any outbreaks of the Omicron variant, but Ardern acknowledged last week that an outbreak was inevitable given the high transmissibility of the variant. "That means that Omicron is now circulating in Auckland and possibly the Nelson-Marlborough region if not elsewhere," she added.

Source: CBC News January 23, 2022 21:15 UTC