"That's to get to a sweet spot in six to 12 months' time, or however long it takes. We can only do that through vaccination and natural infection."
O'Connor said Omicron appeared to be a much better pathway than Delta in terms of achieving that immunity.
"Hopefully we can do it in as steady a manner as possible.
"As long as the rising cases are steady in such a way that health services, and the whole range of other important services in society, aren't disrupted."
O'Connor said listing a location of interest in the current Omicron outbreak was not always necessary.
"Sometimes when we follow up a situation we can identify all the appropriate contacts.
"For example, if there is a particular social gathering and we can get a list of all the people who were at it, then we've got them, really."
There was now a sense of realism about Covid-19 in the Whanganui community, O'Connor said.
"Businesses and schools are increasingly encouraged to manage their own situations, with back-up advice from Public Health.
"That's what phase 2 [of the Government's Omicron response] is all about, really. We are trying to get these places to make many of the decisions themselves.
"I don't want to minimise the fact that some people will be badly affected and some people will get unwell, but in general I think we can see a pathway forward."
The chances of Whanganui locals bringing active cases home from the ongoing protest outside Parliament would most likely be "a minor part of the big picture", O'Connor said.
"Everyone seems to agree that, at some point, making a distinction between vaccinated and unvaccinated people is of minimal relevance.
"It's just a case of judging when we reach that point.
"That's a judgement for the Ministry [of Health] and the politicians to act on, as to when that moment is, or when the process off pulling back from mandates starts."
