The world has been dealing with Covid 19 pandemic and its variants for more than two years now. The emergence of new variants, be it Delta or now Omicron, means that the countries must rework their strategies to deal with them.
And New Zealand is no exception. The most significant threat that needs to be addressed right now is to contain the Omicron variant from spreading in the community. The highly transmissible variant, also known as the B.1.1.529 strain, which was first identified in mid-November 2021 in South Africa, has now spread around the globe.
The first community exposures from the border-related Omicron case in NZ was announced on 29 December. The danger of Omiron spreading in the community is looming over NZ as the daily cases detected in MIQ facilities have been steadily climbing in the past few days.
According to the Ministry of Health, they are considering all new cases at the border to be of the Omicron variant but have not confirmed exactly how many Omicron cases there are in NZ at present.
Indian Weekender spoke to Covid-19 experts to know what they think NZ’s strategy should be to deal with the Omicron outbreak without overloading the health system and if lockdown should be the approach that the government should be taking and more.
Dr. Nick Wilson, Professor Department of Public Health, University of Otago:
On NZ government’s priority and strategy to deal with Omicron:
The priority for the NZ government should be to rapidly tighten border control so that MIQ facilities do not fill up with Omicron cases - and we have more time before a MIQ failure occurs. This will give us time to distribute more booster doses and vaccinate 5-11-year-olds in the next few months. In particular, the NZ government needs to turn down the tap of arrivals from places with massive Omicron outbreaks, like the UK and the USA. It should also require negative rapid antigen tests at the airport before people depart for NZ.
On whether lockdown is a good way to deal with the community outbreak of Omicron:
If (or when) an Omicron outbreak occurs in the NZ community – it seems fairly unlikely to require a lockdown.
On what is needed to stop the community spread of Omicron:
The type of measures being used in Australia currently, like increased mask use, more working from home, and some highly targeted closures (e.g., of nightclubs, bars, etc.), should be used in NZ as well. These measures should help prevent the NZ hospital system from being overloaded during an Omicron outbreak.
Helen Petousis-Harris, Vaccinologist and University of Auckland associate professor in the Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care
On NZ government’s priority and strategy to deal with Omicron:
The focus needs to be on keeping people out of the hospital by reducing the severity of the disease. This is best achieved by getting the booster doses out to as many people as possible as soon as they are eligible.
On whether lockdown is a good way to deal with the community outbreak of Omicron:
Hopefully, we will not need to resort to lockdowns; this would only be a last resort if our health care were unable to cope.
On what is needed to stop the community spread of Omicron:
I don’t think we can stop Omicron; we can only prepare and then manage it by doing all the things we have been trained to do over the last two years. Everyone is going to get infected with this virus; what we need to do is everything to ensure these infections are mild.
Dr.Nikki Turner, Medical Director, The Immunisation Advisory Centre and Professor (hon), Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Auckland
On NZ government’s priority and strategy to deal with Omicron:
Omicron is very likely to come into the NZ community, and when it does, it will spread fast. NZ needs a mixture of high immunisation coverage, including boosters, particularly for high-risk groups, and continuing public health measures to manage the rapidity and amount of spread. This includes physical distancing measures such as mask-wearing, ventilation, managing large group mixing, identification, and quarantine for infected individuals, etc.
On whether lockdown is a good way to deal with the community outbreak of Omicron:
Lockdowns are a blunt tool to stop the spread, but they obviously come with many other social and economic challenges.
When NZ was in an elimination phase, lockdowns were clearly vital. Now we are in a disease minimalisation phase, and we have good immunisation rates, lockdowns really should only be considered if our health services are getting overwhelmed or we have particular areas or groups that have low immunisation coverage. We need to get coverage up before disease spreads rapidly.
On what is needed to stop the community spread of Omicron:
It is important not to just focus on immunisation but also to keep a strong focus on the public health measures that help minimise the spread of Omicron. Everyone should follow public health advice and keep themselves and the community safe.