Category Archives: New Zealand

Workers being told to hunker down, house prices breach the million-dollar mark and a new twist in the Boris Johnson lockdown parties saga in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald

Thousands of students around the country are heading back to school this week as two south Auckland schools are impacted by Covid infections in teaching staff before their students have even had a chance to step into the classroom.

Principals are bracing themselves for further disruption over the next few weeks as modelling predicts the number of new Omicron cases could hit 200 daily cases by tomorrow, doubling to 400 by the end of the week.

A staff member at thuhu College tested positive for Covid-19 and three other staff members are self-isolating, while Reremoana School in Wattle Downs has delayed re-opening by a week after all 27 staff members were deemed close contacts of a Covid-19 positive case.

thuhu College principal Neil Watson said it was the school's first case this year, but it wouldn't be its last.

Omicron is already so "dominant", the Ministry of Health announced yesterday it will stop reporting the specific variant of new cases.

The country recorded 91 new Covid-19 new community cases yesterday.

Ten people were in hospital with the virus, none of whom were in intensive care (ICU) or a high-dependency unit (HDU).

Of the 91 new community cases, 65 were in Auckland.

Te Pnaha Matatini modeller Dr Dion O'Neale said this week was likely to see an upwards shift in case numbers.

"Almost every other place in the world that's had an Omicron outbreak's seen a doubling time of around three days. We'd expect New Zealand to be similar."

Daily cases could jump to 200 by the middle of the week then double to 400 by the weekend.

"So that means about 100 cases a day at the start of the week, around the middle of the week we're probably looking at around 200 cases a day, and then doubling to around 400-ish by the end of the week.

"Maybe things will go badly - that will arrive on the Thursday or Friday, maybe things will go well and we'll make it to Sunday before we get to that level - it's that rough pattern of taking around three days to double."

O'Neale told RNZ that even though not all current cases were being confirmed as the Omicron variant, modellers expected it would be the majority soon and were now making their calculations based on its behaviour.

"Omicron cases grow faster than Delta and other variants, so we expect it to out-peak other variants and take over... it's safest for us to be assuming that a case that comes up is Omicron unless we know otherwise."

He warned Omicron had a very fast incubation period, or latent period - the time between a person getting infected and the point they showed symptoms and became infectious themselves.

Once a person realised they were sick, took action to get tested and their results were reported, it could be four or five days from the point of infection.

"That's important to remember: the case numbers we're seeing at the moment, those are infections that are already baked in, that happened some time ago."

This also means that patterns showing comparatively fewer people getting tested for Covid-19 in weekends or on public holidays skew the numbers: "That will affect how those case numbers grow in the short term," he said.

Cabinet is today meeting to consider changes to the current border settings in the coming weeks after the phased reopening announced in November was put on hold when Omicron emerged.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is chairing the meeting remotely. Despite testing negative for Covid-19, she is still isolating after being deemed a close contact of a flight attendant infected with Covid.

Yesterday Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) urged the Government to update its plans for reopening New Zealand's borders because Omicron had changed the game.

"The previous plan was developed to respond to Delta, not Omicron. If Omicron becomes endemic in New Zealand, there will be no health reason to keep our borders closed or to continue self-isolation or MIQ for international arrivals," TIA spokeswoman Ann-Marie Johnson said.

She said New Zealand needed to reconnect with the world and that people were desperate to reunite with family and friends.

For some including pregnant Kiwi journalist Charlotte Bellis who is in Kabul and unable to secure a spot in MIQ, the border reopening couldn't come soon enough.

Grounded Kiwis spokeswoman Alexandra Birt said Bellis' plight had shone a light on the situation in New Zealand.

"We know that this is not a new story ... this is what thousands of Kiwis across the globe are facing," she told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking.

Bellis' story had reached various parts of the world and more people, as a result, had started to realise how strict New Zealand's border restrictions are.

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Covid-19 Omicron outbreak: School teachers infected with Covid, Omicron cases expected to spike this week - New Zealand Herald

A look at the stark death toll on New Zealand roads over the years. Video / NZ Herald

New Zealand's top 10 car-crash suburbs have been revealed, with Auckland central, Christchurch central and the West Auckland suburb of Henderson claiming the unfortunate honours.

The beachside town of Mt Maunganui, with its flyovers and off-ramps, and east Auckland's busy Mt Wellington also made the top five.

The new data, gleaned from claims information from State Insurance, shows there were 831 claims made resulting from collisions in Auckland central made in 2020.

There were 512 crashes in Christchurch and 478 in Henderson in the same period.

People were more likely to crash between 1pm-6pm, when roads were at their busiest with after-school and work traffic.

Busy intersections, merging traffic, congestion and distracted drivers were a dangerous mix said State's executive general manager of claims, Wayne Tippet.

He said the latest data showed the importance of putting safety first when driving.

"Regardless of your age, driving experience or time of day that you're on the road - safety has got to be the number one priority for all of us when we get behind the wheel," he said.

"Our claims data shows that most of the collisions are happening in busy centres at busy times of the day, and while it's tempting to multi-task while sitting in slow-moving traffic or speed through an intersection as the lights are turning red - it's not worth it."

Tippet said extra care needed to be taken at major intersections and roads where cars merge.

24 Jan, 2022 11:24 PMQuick Read

20 Jan, 2022 05:50 PMQuick Read

The top three crash suburbs are known for multiple intersections and heavy traffic volume.

Henderson's busy Lincoln Rd runs right through the suburb joining the motorway to a major intersection with 34 fast-food distractions along the way.

The call for extra caution comes as a recent survey by State and Ipsos revealed that only 44 per cent of Kiwi drivers have considered the value of their vehicle in the past 12 months, and only 48 per cent knew the replacement cost if it was written off or stolen.

The same survey showed that only 64 per cent of car owners were confident their vehicle replacement cover matches their vehicle's current market value.

Tippet said the findings were important because the price of second-hand cars had increased since Covid-19 hit.

New car production had slowed because of a global shortage of computer chips so buyers were turning more to the used car market.

Tippet said car owners should check their insurance details to make sure they were fully covered.

"To ensure there is enough cover in place to replace their vehicle against its current market value, in the event of a total loss."

Stop where it is safe to do so and make sure everyone's okay. Exchange details with the other driver including the other driver's name, address,phone number, email, license number, and vehicle registration number. Take photographs of all damage. Check if the other party has insurance and encourage them to lodge a claim also. Take a note of their insurance company if they know it. Collect the details of any witnesses. Contact your insurer to lodge your claim.

Auckland Central (831)Christchurch Central (512)Henderson (478)Mount Maunganui (397)Mount Wellington (355)Palmerston North (347)Albany (344)Dunedin Central (304)Hamilton Central (295)Hutt Central (286)(Based on State Insurance motor claims in 2020)

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Revealed: The top 10 NZ suburbs you are most likely to crash your car - New Zealand Herald

EDITORIALTBC.

ARTICLES

5408. Nutrition support in oncology care in Aotearoa New Zealand: current practice, and where to from here?Rana Peniamina, Rachael McLean

5356. Deaf community views on paediatric cochlear implantationBriana Putnam, Sara Pivac Alexander, Kathleen McMenamin, David Welch

5406. Neurodevelopmental follow-up of preterm infants: current practice for infants at a tertiary neonatal centreMeghan Ealish Sandle, Maria Saito Benz, Laura Port, Max Berry

5404. Factors predicting forgone healthcare among Asian adolescents in New Zealand: unmasking variations in aggregate dataRoshini Peiris-John, Lynda Bavin, Kristy Kang, Lovely Dizon, Sonia Lewycka, Shanthi Ameratunga, Terryann Clark, Theresa (Terry) Fleming

VIEWPOINT

5405. Choosing wisely: the lack of validity of ultrasound scans in the investigation of shoulder instabilityCallum Oorschot, Khalid Mohammed, Michael Austen, Emma OLoughlin

5448. Is it time to relieve junior doctors from relief rotations?Yassar Alamri

LETTERS

5603. Exertional rhabdomyolysis following return to exercise after COVID-19 lockdownIsaac Bernhardt, Bryony Ryder, Callum Wilson: Isaac Bernhardt: IBernhardt@adhb.govt.nz

5636. An audit of a marae-based health centre management of COVID-19 community cases in South AucklandMatire Harwood, Selwyn Te Paa, Nethmi Kearns, Helaman Luki, Augustus Anderson, Alex Semprini, Richard Beasley

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The New Zealand Medical Journal is out on Friday - New Zealand Doctor Online

Tuesday, 1 February 2022, 10:13 amPress Release: New Zealand Government

Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta today announcedfurther travel bans on selected individuals associated withthe military coup in Myanmar, one year on from the February2021 coup.

Aotearoa New Zealand remains resolute inour condemnation of the military coup and the actions of themilitary regime, Nanaia Mahuta said.

We areimposing further travel bans on individuals responsible forongoing atrocities and human rights violations under theregime, and remain disappointed at the State AdministrativeCouncils reluctance to fully implement its obligationsunder the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus.

"New Zealandcontinues to call for the immediate cessation of allviolence, and for the release of all those arbitrarilydetained, including Aung San Suu Kyi and others who continueto face politically-motivated charges.

We alsocontinue to call for a return to civilian rule, and remaincommitted to working closely with the internationalcommunity to end impunity and support a lasting, peacefulresolution to the situation in Myanmar, Nanaia Mahutasaid.

The new ban covers sixteen State AdministrationCouncil members, including SAC Cabinet members. The list ofindividuals will remain under review and can be viewed onthe Ministryof Foreign Affairs and Tradewebsite.

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New Zealand Imposes Further Travel Bans On Myanmar - Scoop.co.nz

Disney has announced that every season of the classic 20th Television police drama, NYPD Blue is coming to Disney+ on Wednesday 2nd February 2022.

Committed to reflecting reality, this series portrays the mature themes of life in the police department of New York City with an unprecedented combination of real life, real language and real dramas. Whether its in the squad room or the bedroom, NYPD Blue will offer viewers the kind of realism more often associated with theatrical films than with network television.

The series was originally broadcast on the ABC network, debuted on September 21, 1993 and aired its final episode on March 1, 2005. The series ran for 260 episodes across twelve seasons.

It was ABCs longest-running primetime one-hour drama series until Greys Anatomy surpassed it in 2016.

NYPD Blue was met with critical acclaim, praised for its grittiness and realistic portrayal of the casts personal and professional lives, though the show garnered controversy for its depiction of nudity and alcoholism.

In 1997, True Confessions, written by Art Monterastelli and directed by Charles Haid, was ranked number 36 on TV Guides 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.

It stars Dennis Franz, David Caruso, James McDaniel, Jimmy Smits and Sherry Stringfield.

Are you looking forward to NYPD Blue arriving on Disney+ this week?

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUKFacebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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NYPD Blue Coming Soon To Disney+ (Australia/New Zealand) - What's On Disney Plus

Though Disney+ experienced a booming launch with record growth in a short amount of time, the streamers subscriber numbers have slowed. It seems like everyone who wants Disney+ already has it now, and many consumers still see it as family/children centric. But recently, Disney+ has been expanding its library with more content to appeal to adults, adding titles youd find on other platforms like Hulu.

Disney+s newest addition will be the sixth and final season of This is Us premiering in New Zealand Feb. 2, after Disney+ recently added previous seasons of the series in New Zealand and Australia. In countries other than the U.S., Disney has spent the past year adding titles from 20th Century, FX, ABC and Searchlight, like The Walking Dead series.

While This is Us isnt available for U.S. accounts, Disney+ has been slowly adding more and more adult content to the platform, including its Marvel series like WandaVision, Hawkeye, and Star Wars The Mandalorian. In February, Disney+ is adding last summers popular Ryan Reynolds movie Free Guy which is rated PG-13.

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'This is Us' Launching on Disney+ New Zealand as Streamer Continues to Diversify Content - Cord Cutters News

It is no exaggeration to say that kiwifruit have been Russell Lowes life. For more than 50 years as a plant scientist, the New Zealand scientist has been devoted to the little green, gold and now red fruits formerly known here as Chinese gooseberries.

But his contribution was perhaps best summed up when he was presented with the Plant Raiser's Award by the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture last year.

In a speech when he was presenting the award, RNZIH president Dr Keith Hammett said Lowe was widely considered to have saved New Zealands entire kiwifruit industry after it was devastated by the virulent bacterial disease PSA (Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae).

PLANT & FOOD RESEARCH/Stuff

Russell Lowe (centre) with orchard workers David Green (left) and John Muir, who were developing their own kiwifruit orchards nearby in Te Puke. Circa 1974.

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Kiwifruit is part of the Actinidia genus native to temperate eastern Asia. The seeds were first introduced to this country in the early 1900s and we began exporting the fruit to the United States in the 1950s.

When Lowe arrived on the scene a couple of decades later, the industry was still young. He turned up at Plant & Food Researchs orchard in Te Puke to find there wasnt much orchard to be seen, only some blocks of land lined with poplar trees that had been planted out as shelterbelts.

With the help of a local farmer and technical support from DSIR (Department of Scientific and Industrial Research) in Mt Albert, he got cracking.

It was an interesting time, Lowe said. We didnt have an office or any facilities and my wife Veronica was our unpaid telephone lady sometimes. At that stage kiwifruit was a minor crop in the Bay of Plenty. We were also looking at citrus, subtropicals and a whole range of fruits.

PLANT & FOOD RESEARCH/Stuff

PSA plant symptoms on the kiwifruit vine.

Things have changed a lot since then. There are now about 60 workers on-site and 40 hectares of fruit planted for research along with coolstores, laboratories, greenhouses and a packing house the whole shebang, as Lowe puts it. The facility is an important part of what has become a hugely successful horticultural industry, worth billions to New Zealand.

And when things went wrong, it was the breeding programme here that saved the day.

Back in 2010, a virulent strain of PSA was detected in New Zealand that was known to have decimated orchards overseas. PSA attacks the vigorous shoots of the vine and overwhelms its natural defences, causing canker. It threatened the whole industry and the gold kiwifruit variety, called Hort16A, that Lowe had been involved in developing, turned out to be especially susceptible.

That was a heartbreaking time for growers, as vines perished and orchards had to be ripped out. At the Te Puke research orchard, Lowe and his team also experienced huge losses.

We were in a disastrous state with Hort16A, he recalled. But monitoring some of our newer material, we found another gold cultivar that was showing really good tolerance to PSA. It wasnt completely immune, but as neighbouring plants were dying, this one wasnt.

PLANT & FOOD RESEARCH/Stuff

PSA culture on agar.

Originally known as Gold 3, now Zespri SunGold, the race was on to distribute this new hardier variety to growers that had been hit hard by PSA.

Cross-breeding kiwifruit is usually a slow and steady job. Parental trials take time and the process is painstaking.

Both a male and female plant is required to breed. Prior to the female flowers opening, they are covered with bags to protect them from our natural pollinators. Pollen is taken from male plants and once the female flower is open and receptive, it is transferred over and the bag is closed up again.

Later on, once flowering has finished, well take off the bag and wait until harvest time to extract the seed and then grow new seedlings, said Lowe.

PLANT & FOOD RESEARCH/Stuff

There is wide variation seen across the kiwifruit species.

A typical gold kiwifruit might supply 300 seeds. Around 200 or so will germinate and then 90 per cent of the male plants are discarded as the breeder only needs enough to provide pollen for the next generation of females.

Once the new seedlings have grown and started fruiting, the results are analysed, and then the best parents are selected and crossed again.

Lowe says its about a five-year cycle from making the cross to evaluating the progeny. As breeders, we dont just say, OK weve done it, we can stop now. We like to keep moving forward and improving, he explains. Having that continuous breeding programme was what gave us the resistant material to work with when PSA hit.

123rf.com/Stuff

PSA hasn't gone away, but growers have learnt to cope with it, and good orchard management are still able to produce healthy crops.

Lowe was already pretty sure he had a winner with SunGold as the vines were producing a large, well-shaped fruit with a really good taste.

Once we had enough fruit, we discovered its storage life was much better than Hort16A and then when people started growing it, they were getting really good yields and prices, he said.

Most likely SunGold would have ended up edging out Hort16A eventually but it might have taken a decade for growers to chop off existing plants and graft on new ones. The arrival of PSA meant the whole process had to happen much more urgently.

Today, PSA hasnt gone away, but growers have learnt to cope with it and with good orchard management are still able to produce healthy crops. Were still living with PSA every day on our research orchard, said Lowe. With our seedlings we dont put on any protective sprays as we want to find the most resistant plants to a range of problems.

There are other PSA strains out in the world and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has border controls in place.

TOM LEE FAIRFAX MEDIA NZ

Kiwifruit growers talk about the impact of PSA. This video was first published in 2017.

The South Island has none of the more virulent form of PSA and the plan is to keep it that way. Kiwifruit Vine Health has strict regulations governing anything in the Actinidia genus, as even plants that are resistant to PSA can harbour the bacteria. There are rules around plant movement and the locations of all properties where kiwifruit is grown are recorded.

This means there are lots of barriers to the home gardener who wants to grow their own. For a start you need plenty of space. Lowe advises at least eight square metres for a decent canopy and space alongside it for a male to pollinate. And currently you can only buy the green Hayward variety, sourced from a small number of registered nurseries.

Home gardeners are asked to manage the vines in the same way as a commercial orchard would: pruning and tying down vines by October 1 each year since PSA thrives in unpruned, heavily layered canopies; and, picking the fruit by July 1 to avoid birds eating it and spreading the seed (almost 20,000 wild kiwifruit vines were destroyed last year).

A spray of the copper fungicide Nordox in spring will help reduce the amount of PSA which may develop on vines in North Island locations. And you are not allowed to sell the fruit, propagate plants or move them between properties.

If you remain determined, then Kiwifruit Vine Health (info@kvh.org.nz) encourages home orchardists to contact them for advice and information on which nurseries may be able to supply plants. It may seem a lot less hassle to buy your kiwifruit from a grocery store and before too long you should be able to find the new red variety that Russell and the team have been busy developing.

Red kiwifruit was a mutation of the gold which Russell says originally occurred in the wild in China. A red-fleshed version, known as Hongyang, was commercially planted there after 20 years of breeding and selection.

It was quite well received in the Chinese market, but when PSA came along it wasnt particularly resistant, said Lowe. Weve been working on reds since 1997 and prior to PSA thought we were making quite good progress but then discovered it was just as susceptible as Hort16a and we lost probably 90 per cent of our seedlings to disease. But we found some that were surviving and from those we made new crosses, and thats where this new red has come from.

Known as Zespri RubyRed, it is sweet, with a delicious berry taste and that it looks great when cut open. Last Christmas, I put red kiwifruit on a pavlova for my family and it looked fantastic.

Work on the red variety continues, as breeders look to improve fruit size and storage life. Since there may be other pests and diseases out there there are concerns about the brown marmorated stink bug the strategy is to breed material with a reasonably wide genetic background so at least some plants will hopefully cope with whatever comes along.

Lowe has now retired from his full-time role and is an honorary fellow popping in occasionally to see how things are going. Because breeding is a long-term project there is material I was working on before I retired and Im interested in seeing what the outcomes are.

While Lowe may not be actively breeding kiwifruit any more, he is enjoying being able to eat them purely for pleasure. When I was working full-time, you might have to eat 20 or 30 samples a day at assessment time, so you didnt want to go home and eat more kiwifruit, he says. Now I enjoy the gold and the red.

Read more from the original source:

Meet the man who saved New Zealand's billion-dollar kiwifruit industry from disease - Stuff.co.nz

ALDEN WILLIAMS/Stuff

Andris (Andy) Apse, 78, has moved to Diamond Harbour after 22 years of landscape photography on the West Coast.

The beauty of New Zealands landscape inspired Andris Apse photography career.

The legendary landscape photographers defining moment came aged 18 while exploring a largely untouched Fiordland area, where he was left absolutely spellbound by its beauty.

I knew then and there ... I was going to be a photographer.

The award-winning photographer and New Zealand Order of Merit recipient is hosting an exhibition at Stoddart Cottage Gallery in Diamond Harbour from February 4 to 27 to celebrate his return to Canterbury, after 22 years photographing remote parts of the West Coast.

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Born in Latvia in 1943, Apse spent five of his first six years of life in a refugee camp in Germany before emigrating with his mother to New Zealand. He spoke zero English when he arrived.

I was totally hopeless. Id hate to learn (English) now, when youre younger you pick things up quicker.

Opportunities as a teenage forestry trainee to explore Nelson, the West Coast and Fiordland in particular sparked his desire to showcase remote landscapes in their rawest forms.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/Stuff

Apse is one of New Zealands most decorated landscape photographers.

Over the years, Westland National Park, Stewart Island and the subantarctic islands were among his favourite photography locations for their growing, collapsing, rugged, extreme nature.

Places like that feed my imagination for dramatic interpretations of the landscape.

Planning for most of Apses photographs takes years. Showcasing a terrain in its prime means analysing it and deciding the exact right time of year to take the photograph.

The season, weather and time of day are a few factors considered, and his dedication stretches as far as climbing ladders and setting up platforms in trees to sit and wait for the perfect shot to arrive.

Supplied

Andris Apse photograph of Ahuriri Valley will be on show at the Stoddart Cottage exhibition.

He became a professional photographer in 1969, initially combining landscape photography with other genres, before making it his focus by the 1980s.

His images have featured in publications like The New York Times and he has produced a number of books showcasing the regions he has photographed.

His numerous accolades include the New Zealand Order of Merit, honorary fellowships of the New Zealand and Australian institutes of professional photographers, Olympus international photographer of the year and winner of the animal behaviour section of the UK Natural History Museums International Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.

Despite the accolades, one of his proudest moments came when a father and son drove halfway across the South Island to the West Coast and sought him out. The pair were avid explorers and were so moved by his work that they had to tell him face-to-face.

He admitted to me that it made them cry. That was the biggest compliment I could ever have ... they travelled, asked for me and found me, all to tell me how much it meant to them. Thats worth more to me than any amount of money.

After being based for some years in krito, Apse has recently relocated to Diamond Harbour.

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Beauty of New Zealand's landscape inspired legendary photographer's career - Stuff.co.nz

The Omicron subtype BA.2 is expected to soon beat out its currently-dominant cousin, BA.1. Photo / Getty Images

It's been dubbed "son of Omicrion" by the world's media, but BA.2 is better considered a close cousin to the subvariant it's overtaking around the world and soon will here. Science reporter Jamie Morton explains.

Just as we've seen the original "wild type" of the Sars-CoV-2 virus branch into variants, variants spawn subvariants.

The B.1.1.529 variant that was first detected in South Africa just 69 days ago and which we today know better as Omicron has been observed in three main subtypes.

Those are BA.1, which has spread like wildfire around the world and replaced Delta in the pandemic driver's seat; BA.2; and the relatively rare BA.3.

But BA.2's star is rising fast.

It's already beating out its cousin in parts of Europe and Asia, and has so far been confirmed here in some border workers and their families.

In Denmark, it's responsible for more than 80 per cent of new infections already.

In the UK, scientists suspect a falling proportion of PCR tests with the original Omicron lineage isn't due to competition from older variants like Delta, but the ascendant BA.2.

While it shares the same 32 mutations with BA.1, some important features set it apart.

Whereas BA.1 is commonly identified because it's missing one of three target genes used in standard PCR tests, BA.2 has been nicknamed "stealth Omicron" because it doesn't have that tell-tale missing target gene.

That's left scientists to instead track it using genomic data, in the same way they did with earlier variants like Delta.

Early studies into BA.2 have yielded good and bad news.

The good news was that, so far, it hasn't proven any more severe than the BA.1 subvariant, which itself was much less likely than Delta to make people sick enough to need to go to hospital.

"Whether or not it causes more severe disease will become apparent as more data is collected," said Professor Jonathan Ball, a molecular virologist at the UK's University of Nottingham.

"Of course, it is important to keep monitoring the situation and try to gain a better understanding of how this variant behaves, but so far there is nothing in these early analyses to worry us unduly."

It was less clear whether BA.2 was better at evading vaccine immunity than BA.1.

A new Danish study suggested it may possess immune-evasive properties that further reduce the protective effect of vaccination against infection.

Still, analyses have shown the booster shot offered a similar level of protection up to 90 per cent at keeping infected people out of hospital.

The bad news: it's estimated to be 1.5 times more transmissible than BA.1, which largely explained its swift path to dominance.

Even on the basis of what we know about the spreading power of BA.1, New Zealand modellers are anticipating a quick-building wave that could soon peak with tens of thousands of daily infections.

A faster-spreading Omicron might mean more cases and more pressure on the health system.

The precise reasons for BA.2's apparent advantage remain unclear.

Scientists have so far pointed to changes within its spike protein - used by the virus to recognise and invade susceptible host cells - as well as in its receptor binding domain.

Associate Professor Stuart Turville, of the University of New South Wales, said those changes in the binding domain may increase transmissibility, but there still hadn't been enough data to compare both subvariants head-to-head in the community.

"It may turn out to be a more transmissible sub-variant to BA.1 - and not unlike what we have seen with small changes in variants that can drive the supplanting of one versus another."

Associate Professor James Wood, an infectious disease epidemiologist also of the University of New South Wales, predicted BA.2 would replace BA.1 in Australia within mere months.

Still, he didn't expect it to immediately cause a new epidemic wave, or to lead to a major change in disease severity.

Otago University virologist Dr Jemma Geoghegan said the same pattern might also play out here.

"We have to remember that a lot of this can depend on epidemiological factors like super-spreading, as well as genetic factors," she said.

"But all else being equal, we can still probably expect to see an increase in BA.2 cases."

Geoghegan said a big unanswered question was whether BA.2 could infect someone after they'd already been infected with BA.1.

"We know that reinfections can happen and that's been reported but not necessarily with the same variant," she said.

"What would be helpful to know is that, if you've already had BA.1, and you're fully vaccinated with the booster, if you're less likely to become infected again, either with BA.1 or BA.2."

Another question was - assuming BA.2 took over how long its reign would last.

"Omicron has quickly become dominant and spread around the world, so whatever comes next is going to have to be even fitter."

Interestingly, she pointed out Omicron emerged not from a Delta ancestor, but from one that dated to around mid-2020.

"So, it's hard to know whether Omicron is going to produce more subvariants or whether a whole new variant will come along that might be more closely related to something else."

Read this article:

Explained: What NZ can expect from new Omicron subvariant - New Zealand Herald

Workers being told to hunker down, house prices breach the million-dollar mark and a new twist in the Boris Johnson lockdown parties saga in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald

Commerce Minister David Clark has hinted banks may not have been complying with responsible lending rules, as he outlined the terms for an inquiry into legislative changes that have been blamed for loans being refused.

On Monday afternoon Clark released terms of reference for its investigation into the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA).

While New Zealand's banking sector has said the new rules mean certain customers who were previously able to borrow are now having to have applications declined due to the new rules, Clark has fired back, suggesting a drop in lending may be seasonal and it was possible banks were simply not ready for the changes.

Clark told Newstalk ZB host Mike Hosking that similar changes in Australia took time to bed in.

"Some banks were better prepared than others and I think that's what we're seeing here."

Asked if he believed an investigation would show he had "cocked up" Clark seemed to believe this was not the case.

"My hunch is what we're seeing is the result of the changes making an impact in the right way," Clark said, adding that the review would establish the facts.

A review of lending in 2018 found "widespread irresponsible lending in New Zealand and that included across the banks," Clark said.

Initially targeting loan sharks, banks warned the changes would make lending more conservative. Almost as soon as the legislation came into force, bank customers complained they were being rejected loans due to what appeared to be minor personal spending.

The terms of reference suggest the investigation will start reporting back to the Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister within days, but a swift fix is unlikely.

Headed by unnamed officials at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, the first advice will be provided by "early-mid February" with further advice expected in April.

Outlining a series of potential work streams, including changes in credit markets, other factors that may be impacting lending such as Reserve Bank lending rules and assessing the CCCFA's impact, the terms of reference suggested more work may need to follow.

"A potential outcome is that more work will likely need to be done to fully understand actual impacts."

Clark, who has come under fire as reports documented the extent to which banks warned about the possible impact of the new rules, appeared to hit back on Monday.

The Dunedin North MP revealed he had called the heads of the major banks in for meetings this week "to the bottom of exactly what aspects of the CCCFA responsible lending rules were not being adhered to by some banks previously.

"Anecdotal evidence to date suggests the new lending requirements have presented a greater challenge for some parties."

Clark did not elaborate on the statement and has refused interview requests.

In a statement, the New Zealand Bankers' Association said it did not know what Clark was referring to.

"Banks take their obligations to comply with the law very seriously. That was the case before the rule change, and remains the case," NZBA chief executive Roger Beaumont said.

"The suggestion that banks were not complying with their responsible lending obligations before the latest CCCFA changes comes as a surprise. Banks are simply complying with the new rules as they are written.

"There's a one-size fits all approach for all lenders and all loan types, from home loans to overdrafts and extensions to credit card limits. This means banks don't have the same discretion or flexibility they used to."

Supported by the Treasury, Reserve Bank and Commerce Commission, the terms of reference say MBIE will lead an investigation into "the intended or unintended impacts, beyond those expected by the initial implementation" of the legislation "primarily in relation to mortgage, but also other lending, by banks and non-bank lenders in the current consumer credit market".

Introduced into Parliament by Kris Faafoi, Clark inherited the legislation when he became Commerce Minister after the 2020 election.

Although he delayed the implementation of the legislation in late 2021 to give the banks more time to prepare to implement it, Clark did not accede to calls for it to be scrapped.

Within weeks of the legislation coming into effect on December 1, customers began claiming approval for loans due to the rules.

Established customers at banks have claimed they were placed under unusual amounts of scrutiny despite lengthy credit histories.

"The investigation will analyse the reported outcomes of the CCCFA and whether they're attributable to the Act's intended protections, unintended consequences or any other external factors like the global economic situation," Clark said.

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Lending probe: David Clark hints banks not following the rules - New Zealand Herald