TBC NEWS

Prime Minister cancels wedding as New Zealand prepares for thousands of Omicron cases a day All of New Zealand will move to Red at 11.59pm tonight, 23 January. At Red there are more mask requirements, and reduced gathering limits to lower the risk of picking up the virus and super spreader events. Red is not lockdown. Our goal at Red is to slow the spread of Omicron.  Red is not lockdown. At Red businesses stay open and you can do most of the things that you normally do, if you are vaccinated. There are no regional boundaries at Red, and you can shop normally as all supermarkets and retail remain open. While we will now experience more cases of Covid-19 than we ever have before, most people will be able to recover at home. Anyone with symptoms should isolate immediately and call Healthline 0800 358 5453 or your doctor to arrange a test. If you test positive, you will need to isolate for 14 days and your close contacts will need to isolate for at least 10 days. Help and support, inc...

New Zealand reportedly records first Omicron coronavirus case  Omicron has arrived in New Zealand. It’s been detected in someone in managed isolation in Christchurch. Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield is holding a press conference after reports the country's first case of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 has been found. WHO said preliminary evidence suggests that coronavirus vaccines may be less effective against infection and transmission linked to the Omicron coronavirus variant, which also carries a higher risk of reinfection.

New Zealand plans to ban young people from ever buying cigarettes in their lifetime New Zealand plans to ban young people from ever buying cigarettes in their lifetime in one of the world's toughest crackdowns on the tobacco industry, arguing that other efforts to extinguish smoking were taking too long New Zealand’s government believes it has come up with a unique plan to end tobacco smoking a lifetime ban for those aged 14 or younger. Under a new law the government plans to pass next year, the minimum age to buy cigarettes would keep rising each year. New Zealand will ban the sale of tobacco to its next generation, in a bid to eventually phase out smoking. Anyone born after 2008 will not be able to buy cigarettes or tobacco products in their lifetime, under a law expected to be enacted next year. Health Minister Ayesha Verall said  We want to make sure young people never start smoking,. Currently, about 13% of New Zealand adults smoke. But the rate is about 31%, among the i...

Several hundred people in New Zealand were evacuated from their homes Heavy rain and floods that forecasters said could be a "once-in-a-100-year" event continued to lash NewZealand's South Island on Monday.The heavy rain caused severe floods, evacuations of more than 240 homes, power cuts and rising rivers Several hundred people in New Zealand were evacuated from their homes on Monday while others recounted dramatic helicopter rescues as heavy rain caused widespread flooding in the Canterbury region.Authorities declared a state of emergency in New Zealand after some places received as much as 40cm of rain over the weekend NewZealand’s military has been deployed to evacuate hundreds of residents from flood-hit areas of the South Island as heavy rains wash away bridges and cut roads. Hundreds of people in New Zealand have been forced to evacuate their homes due to a 1 in 100 year flood. There is continuing concern that some river levees could still break if the rain fails t...

Several people have been stabbed at a Countdown supermarket in Dunedin Five people have been stabbed at a Countdown supermarket in Dunedin. Three are in a critical condition and two are in a moderate condition. Police are responding to an incident in central Dunedin It occurred on Cumberland St at about 2.30pm.Initial information suggests several people have been injured. One person has been taken into custody. Further information will be released when available. PM Jacinda Ardern says it is not known what the motivation was behind the stabbing attack in Dunedin, but has been advised that there is "nothing to indicate it is a domestic terror event.  Five people have been rushed to hospital, three in a critical condition after a stabbing attack at a supermarket in the New Zealand city of Dunedin. Police have a person in custody.  Report say they have four people in their care following the stabbing at a Dunedin supermarket. Earlier they were saying they had five patients. The l...