Covid-19 Omicron outbreak: 5662 cases, nine deaths as XE subvariant hits NZ

There are 5662 new cases of Covid-19 in the community today and nine people have died with the virus.

There are 490 people in hospital, including 20 in ICU or HDU.

Of the nine people who have died one was in their 50s, one in their 60s, one in their 70s, one in their 80s and five people were over 90.

The Ministry of Health said the arrival of Omicron XE, first revealed yesterday, was not "unexpected".

Public health settings in place to manage Omicron are also appropriate for the management of the new variant, they said.

No changes at this stage would be required.

"There is no evidence to date that XE causes more severe disease than other Omicron lineages, noting that it takes weeks or months to identify the severity of each new variant."

The seven-day rolling average of case numbers has increased compared to what it was a week ago.

Today's seven-day rolling average is 8435, and the seven-day rolling average of cases as at last Sunday was 8170.

The locations of today's cases are in Northland (203), Auckland (1455), Waikato (365), Bay of Plenty (223), Lakes (85), Hawke's Bay (187), MidCentral (196), Whanganui (68), Taranaki (152), Tairāwhiti (50), Wairarapa (53), Capital and Coast (355), Hutt Valley (191), Nelson Marlborough (224), Canterbury (978), South Canterbury (128), Southern (666), West Coast (81), Unknown (2)

There are now 59,018 of active cases in the community and there has been 881,481 in total in New Zealand since the start of the pandemic.

The total number of publicly reported deaths with Covid-19 is now 674.

The seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 13.

The ministry reminded people that they should have plans in place in case they were to catch Covid-19 while away during the Anzac long weekend.

"You would need to self-isolate and likely remain wherever you test positive or become a household contact, so there may be extra costs involved in paying for additional accommodation and changing your travel plans."

Those who travelled using their own vehicle could return home - making sure they adhere to public health measures such as maintaining physical distancing.

Those that used public transport or travelled between islands would need to isolate where they are though.

Yesterday 1202 booster vaccine doses were administered.

This brings the total of Kiwis boosted to 2,618,037, or 71.2 per cent of those eligible.

XE subvariant hits NZ

The announcement will follow reports yesterday of the new Omicron XE subvariant arriving, and the deaths of 19 people including two children.

Officials yesterday announced the first case of the XE subvariant had been detected in New Zealand.

A second wave of Omicron may be under way in New Zealand with deaths of five to 15 people a day possible for months, Professor Michael Baker said.

The University of Otago epidemiologist said XE and other sub-variants had potential to help fuel a new Omicron surge.

Because XE was another Omicron variant it wouldn't be fundamentally different from its parents BA.1 and BA.2, Baker said.

That meant being "ferociously infectious" and good at evading immunity - especially for those who hadn't had their booster.

He said XE was unlikely to be any better than other Omicron lineages at seriously sickening or killing those it infected.

Omicron variants had similar virulence to the ancestral Covid-19 strain that emerged in Wuhan more than two years ago and killed millions before vaccines were developed.

Baker said it was too soon to be sure, but he thought XE would be slightly more infectious than BA.2.

Three factors could drive a second Omicron wave in New Zealand, Otago University epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker says. Photo / Supplied

He said along with waning immunity and the easing of restrictions, XE could propel an expected second virus wave in New Zealand.

"I think we may be reaching a plateau [of case numbers] and we may be seeing the beginning of a second wave in New Zealand."

The subvariant, first identified in the United Kingdom in January and a hybrid of the original Omicron subtype BA.1 and the faster-spreading, now-dominant BA.2, was detected in a traveller who arrived in New Zealand on April 19.

The person was tested the next day and was isolating at home, the Ministry of Health said.

Yesterday 7930 new cases of Covid-19 in the community and 19 new deaths were announced - including two children aged under 9 and a person in their 20s.

There were also 494 people in hospital, 15 of them in intensive care.