Omicron Cometh

Well New Zealand, we had a good run. Today was the official throwing-in-of-the-towel-omicron-is-here-and-we’re-not-stopping-it announcement. The government has been warning us for weeks that this was coming, and at 11 am the prime minister held an unscheduled press conference saying there was a family of 9 that somehow picked up omicron while visiting Auckland from Nelson for a wedding and later spread it to a flight attendant who was on multiple flights while infectious. We don’t know where exactly the family caught it from, but it is definitely omicron. As we had been warned earlier this week, as soon as there was confirmed omicron in the community, all of the country would move to the red setting in an attempt to slow down the spread. We’ll be heading to red at midnight tonight.

For the past week or so, the government has been warning/suggesting that people prepare for home isolation and getting sick. All the media sites are publishing lists of items to have on hand and discussions to have as a family so everyone knows what to do if anyone has to isolate or gets sick. There have been runs on all sorts of other the counter medicines, non-perishable food items, pet food, and masks. People haven’t wiped the shelves clean, but the grocery stores have reinstated limits on items like paracetamol (Tylenol). I can imagine that today there were a lot more people stocking up, but I think people have a bit of confidence in the supply chains because during previous covid lockdowns, there was never any long lasting shortages besides those caused by hoarders.

Unlike in previous cases of covid in the community, red does not mean lockdown. In fact, it means no real change for most vaccinated people. People can still go to restaurants (with a maximum capacity of 100 seated people) go to stores, etc. as long as the venues are checking vaccines passes. People will need to wear masks while out shopping or in other indoor venues. If you are unvaccinated or spend most of your time at packed nightclubs, life will be limited, but for us - a middle of the road family with two kids - day-to-day life won’t change from a policy perspective.

In reality, our lives are changing quite a bit. No longer will we live in a happy little bubble where we don’t have to make a risk analysis before doing anything. Unfortunately, many Kiwis are extremely lax about proper mask wearing. I am not confident at all that the average attitude towards masks - which is basically to wear as thin a mask as possible as little as possible - is going to stop much of anything. We also have some tough decisions to make about the upcoming school year which starts in ten days. My son, who will be entering year 4, will be required to wear a mask at school. My daughter, however, will be in year 3 and will not be required to wear a mask at school. At least not by the government. We’re waiting to see what kind of policies and procedures her school puts into place before making decisions, but assuming they stick with the government guidelines, that means there will be no mask wearing and no social distancing. For me, that isn’t acceptable, though most Kiwis I know are fine with it (or haven’t really thought about it much).

So Hi World! New Zealand is finally joining you.