Government in hot water with Waitangi Tribunal, festival-goers test positive for Covid and the Brian Tamaki saga continue in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald
Auckland Airport's domestic terminal has been identified as a potential exposure site by the Ministry of Health.
In the most recent update just after 6pm, the airport was added to the growing list. A person infected with Covid-19 was at the airport on Saturday between 4.45pm and 5.15pm.
Anyone who was at the location during this time must self-monitor for symptoms.
Since 5pm a number of potential exposure sites have been identified, however non are considered high risk or linked to an Omicron case.
Earlier this afternoon the uniform shop at a top Auckland girls school has been identified as a location of interest by the Ministry of Health.
Meanwhile, a private event in South Auckland has been added to the health ministry's locations of interest page. People who were there are being considered close contacts of a Covid case.
The event was held at the Manukau Indian Association Diversity Centre on Tui Rd, Papatoetoe, last Friday (January 21) between 7pm and 10pm.
The office manager at the centre said the hall had been hired out for a private function connected to a wedding ceremony.
He said a traditional Punjabi Jago ceremony had taken place on Friday night.
The Jago ritual involved the relatives of the groom and bride celebrating the marriage with dancing and partying.
The centre had not been told by health authorities about the link to the Covid-infected person but the building was sanitised after every event, the manager said.
3pm update
The Ministry of Health released five new locations of interest at 3pm.
Details for the SoundSplash Festival in Hamilton, that was released as a location of interest this morning, have been updated.
None of the locations released at 3pm have been linked by the ministry at this stage to Omicron cases - except for the music festival.
An infected person visited the music festival between 6am on Friday January 21 and 9.15am on Sunday January 23.
Anyone who was at Soundsplash during this time must self-monitor for symptoms and get tested if needed as this location has been exposed to an Omicron case.
"If symptoms develop, get a test and stay at home until you get a negative test result."
Meanwhile, a number of new Auckland locations of interest have been released.
• Flight NZ5077 Auckland-Nelson : Sunday, January 16, 2.05-3.35pm.
Meanwhile, two new locations of interest were added to the Ministry of Health's list at 2pm.
An Auckland Central restaurant and a gym in Tauranga are the latest sites linked to Covid cases.
CityFitness Fraser Cove in Tauranga has been linked to a suspected Omicron case, who visited on January 25 between 10am and 12pm. People there at the same time are deemed closed contacts and need to self-isolate and get tested immediately, as well as on day 5.
Chamate Restaurant in Auckland Central has also been listed as a location of interest but health authorities haven't indicated if the site is linked to an Omicron case.
People at the restaurant on January 20 between 2.38pm and 4pm are close contacts and need to self isolate and get tested immediately and on day 5.
Details for the previously announced exposure event - Flight NZ5077 between Auckland and Nelson on January 16 - have been updated this afternoon as well.
The current advice for those on the Nelson-bound service, which is linked to an Omicron case, is to self-isolate and get tested immediately and on day 5.
1pm update
• Private event at Manukau Indian Association Diversity Centre: 25 Tui Rd, Papatoetoe: Friday, January 21, 7-10pm.
Health authorities have not said it is linked to an Omicron case, but it is being considered as a "high risk" event and people should self-isolate and get tested.
A private event held at the Manukau Indian Association Diversity Centre, in Papatoetoe, has been named a location of interest. Image / Google
A KFC restaurant in Tauranga is the latest location of interest linked to what health officials say is a probable Omicron case.
The Ministry of Health has identified KFC Tauranga - at 449 Cameron Rd - as connected to a Covid case who was there last week on Thursday, January 20, between 5pm and 10.16pm.
"This exposure is linked to probable Omicron case. Self-isolate, test immediately and on day 5 after you were exposed at this location of interest."
Two other places of interest were released at midday: the Mitre 10 Mega store in Mt Wellington, Auckland, and the Pizza Hutt on River Rd, Flagstaff, in Hamilton.
They are not labelled as being linked to Omicron cases, however.
KFC Tauranga has been linked to a "probable" Omicron case in the last week. Image / Google
Earlier, the Soundsplash Festival in Hamilton was added to the official list and showed those affected were potentially exposed to a Covid case for just over 51 hours.
The time period was from 6am on Friday January 21, to 9.15am on Sunday January 23.
Two locations of interest in Queenstown - including the airport - have been linked to suspected Omicron cases.
9am update
• Queenstown Airport: Saturday, January 22, 2.15-3pm.
• Hotel St Moritz Queenstown: Saturday, January 22, 12am (midnight)-12pm.
Both exposure sites are said to be linked to suspected Omicron cases at this stage, the ministry said.
People who were at either place during the affected times are told to self-monitor for Covid symptoms for 10 days after being exposed and if symptoms start to show, get tested and stay home until a negative test result returns.
Queenstown Airport has been connected to a suspected Omicron case who was there on Saturday, January 22. Photo / Mike Scott
More places of interest are expected to be released by the Ministry of Health this morning and throughout the day, as the fight against Omicron ramps up.
Six exposure events - including bus rides, a women's gym and a cafe in Rotorua - were identified.
None of the locations have been linked to Omicron cases at this stage.
If authorities later find a particular exposure event is connected to a person who has tested positive for Omicron, the Ministry of Health will update the status of that location accordingly; as well as advise people who were there about what they should do.
Of the exposure sites named, four have been dubbed to be "close contact" sites - meaning everyone who was at that location at the affected time is considered to be a close contact of a Covid case.
Passengers on three Auckland bus rides told to isolate
A bus ride from the Balmoral shops in Mt Eden (Stop 8418) to Queen St in downtown Auckland (Stop 71319) is affected on Sunday, January 16, between 1.45pm to 2.30pm.
"Self-isolate, test immediately and on day five after you were exposed at this location of interest. Further isolation and testing requirements will be provided by Public Health," the ministry said.
A second bus trip from the Lynfield Youth & Leisure Centre in Mt Roskill (Bus 25B at Stop 8913) to The Civic in downtown Auckland is also a close contact location of interest.
The trip took place last week on Thursday, January 20, between 11.45am and 12.45pm.
A return trip on the same Bus 25B back to the Lynfield Youth & Leisure Centre is also affected on the same day between 6.30pm and 7.15pm.
