Covid 19 MIQ halt: Seymour says Omicron leak inevitable, Govt asleep at wheel

Omicron's spread is inevitable in New Zealand and the Government's MIQ halt is causing "misery for nothing", David Seymour says.

The Act leader said strong home isolation protocols and a major campaign to get the most vulnerable booster shots were better ways to subdue the highly transmissible Covid-19 strain and protect society.

He spoke after the Government halted the availability of managed isolation rooms last night and postponed the next room release.

Seymour today said the Government had provided no meaningful guidance on Covid-19 strategies lately.

"Omicron does not observe Christmas the way our Prime Minister has been."

He said Omicron would most likely leak into the community before the end of February and a strong home isolation system should be prepared now.

Act leader David Seymour says strong home isolation systems and booster shots - not an MIQ halt - are ways to minimise any Omicron incursion. Photo / Mark Mitchell

An MIQ freeze would at most buy the country a few Omicron-free days, and getting over-65s booster shots should be the priority, Seymour said.

"Omicron, like Delta is a whole new virus - on steroids."

The rooms were going to made available tomorrow, but Seymour said the halt would cause more human misery.

"We have had misery for nothing so many times."

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment made the hotel room announcement in a tweet at 7.47pm.

"Kiwis stranded overseas had to learn their fate through an 8pm press release posted on the MBIE website by a bureaucrat. They will be livid," Seymour added.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said pausing the next MIQ release was a temporary move enacted due to extreme pressure on the managed isolation system.

"It recognises how easily Omicron spreads, despite the extra layers of protection put in place in MIQs, and will help protect New Zealanders," Hipkins said today.

He said no decision had been made on the date, sequence and conditions for the border re-opening.