Hipkins’ reaction,

The Omicron variant is a ‘‘highly transmissible virus of concern’’, writes

The Government is ‘‘confident’’ the new Omicron Covid variant hasn’t entered New Zealand yet, according to Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins.

His reassurance came as nine southern African countries were added to the ‘‘very high-risk countries list’’ following public health advice around the newly discovered variant.

Hipkins said an assessment was carried out yesterday afternoon of emerging evidence to determine if it posed a risk to New Zealand.

‘‘The Government is taking a precautionary approach in treating South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Seychelles, Malawi and Mozambique as very high-risk countries to reduce the chance of Omicron entering

New Zealand,’’ Hipkins said.

Only New Zealand citizens from these countries will be able to enter the country from 11:59pm today and would be required to stay in managed isolation for 14 days and undergo testing, he said.

The extended MIQ requirement would also apply to those already in transit from these countries, the minister said. ‘‘I am also assured by the fact that the numbers of travellers we get from each of these countries is low.’’

Yesterday, a World Health Organisation (WHO) advisory panel classified the variant first detected in South Africa as a ‘‘highly transmissible virus of concern’’ and named it Omicron.

This marks the first time in months the WHO has classified a Covid-19 variant as such. The Delta variant, which has become the world’s most prevalent, is in the same category.

Omicron has since been detected in Belgium, Israel, Botswana and Hong Kong. The United Kingdom closed its borders to southern Africa, followed by other countries in Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia. Late last night the Netherlands confirmed 61 people who had arrived on two flights from South Africa on Friday had tested positive for the coronavirus and were in isolation. Further tests were underway on the travelers who arrived at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport to establish if any of them have the new Omicron variant.

Hipkins was confident Omicron hasn’t entered New Zealand. ‘‘Adding these countries to the very high-risk country register is an appropriate and proportionate measure as more evidence is gathered globally on the Omicron variant.’’

Discussions about it were also held with health officials in Australia, he said.

Institute of Environmental Science and Research principal scientist of genomics Professor Mike Bunce said there was only limited information on Omicron and ‘‘lots of speculation.’’

All other variants of concern had found their way to the New Zealand border and Omicron would also show up at some point, he said.

The University of Auckland Centre for Computational Evolution’s Dr David Welch said it was likely Omicron had been circulating in South Africa for some time for it to have reached the current outbreak size.

Bunce said it was ‘‘too early to say’’ just how much more transmissible Omicron was than the Delta variant.

‘‘The fact that Omicron has been detected on a background of Delta raises a flag.’’ To determine how transmissible Omicron was relative to Delta it would require more testing to detect the variant and good epidemiology in areas where both Delta and Omicron were circulating, he said.

Estimates of Omicron’s R number – the rating of a disease’s ability to spread – would likely appear soon, with this number dictating the type of response, Bunce said.

With Aotearoa planning to start reopening from early next year, it was ‘‘prudent to keep a closer eye’’ on the border, he said.

Sequencing the genomes of all border cases and retaining the MIQ system for international arrivals would give health officials options in controlling entry into the country, he said. ‘‘I suspect there may be changes to the border in response to Omicron.’’

Research Director for the School of Veterinary Science at Massey University professor Nigel French said current vaccines would ‘‘afford valuable protection’’ against new strains and could be ‘‘just as effective’’ against Omicron. ‘‘Evidence suggests that vaccination, particularly if you have had two or more shots, will produce antibodies that will neutralise new variants,’’ French said.

‘‘I suspect there may be changes to the border.’’ Mike Bunce Genomics professor