Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says mandates and vaccine passes are unlikely to be used as widely as before and Cabinet will review traffic light settings next week. 

The PM today said Omicron may well have already peaked in Auckland. 

But hospital case numbers would show how much of a lag was happening. 

Jacinda Ardern was welcomed at Sylvia Park School today, where the new history curriculum, Omicron, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine were discussed. Photo / Michael Craig 

"Cases come first, hospitalisations follow, sadly," Ardern told a press conference in Auckland. 

The PM said healthcare employees were facing a very strenuous workload. 

"We know our health workers are working extremely hard but they're also affected by Covid personally." 

That was one reason some public health restrictions were still needed, the PM said. 

Ardern said Covid-19 vaccine passes were likely to become less important soon, but might still be needed as a back-up in case a new coronavirus variant emerged. 

On Russian sanctions after the invasion of Ukraine, Ardern said more work was being done on which individuals these sanctions would apply to. 

The Government was moving on individuals and assets linked to Putin's regime. 

Ardern suggested expelling Russia's ambassador was not realistic, because doing so would likely spark retaliation, meaning New Zealand would lose diplomatic representation in Russia. 

High hospitalisation rates mean no shift from red setting as Auckland reaches its peak 

New Omicron infections across Auckland are starting to drop but the increasing number of patients in hospitals with Covid may not see the city shift out of the red traffic light restrictions just yet. 

Director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield said this morning Auckland had seen the peak of infections. 

But he told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking positivity rates and hospitalisations should be considered in any debate about changing traffic light settings. 

There were currently nearly 1000 people in hospitals with Covid. 

Bloomfield rejected any claim the health system was in crisis but said staff were feeling under pressure, with 15 to 20 per cent of the workforce infected with Covid. 

He said two-thirds of those in hospital with Covid-19 were there because of virus symptoms or because Omicron had impacted an underlying illness. 

The other third were presenting under other circumstances, such as for injuries or maternal care. 

That meant about 750 people were in hospital mostly because of Covid. 

"Remember, that's 750 people in hospital who otherwise wouldn't have been." 

It meant some elective surgery and planned care couldn't always be carried out. 

Meanwhile, Pfizer has talked about a fourth dose of the vaccine for over-65s. 

Last week, Bloomfield asked health officials to look into a fourth dose for older folk because there was waning immunity and because older people were more vulnerable. 

Nurses are being paid an extra $500 per night shift as hospitals grappled with staffing issues, especially in Auckland, Bloomfield confirmed. 

The Herald has seen a Waitematā District Health Board document showing a Covid-19 remuneration arrangement became effective on March 4. 

All nurses, midwives and other hospital support staff at Auckland, Waitematā or Counties Manukau DHB who worked a full eight-hour night shift had been given an extra $500 allowance. 

Outside Auckland, the peak of the Omicron outbreak was still to come as case numbers continued to increase, Bloomfield told Hosking. 

Bloomfield would be advising the Government about whether a booster shot should be required for vaccine passports. 

"We would like to get above 90 per cent," of the population boosted, he said. 

On tourists returning, Auckland University Covid modeller Dr David Welch said New Zealand was not well-prepared to sequence Covid cases from overseas arrivals. 

He wanted to see incoming travellers' swabs sequenced if they tested positive. They could send their swab in an envelope to a local laboratory. 

This would help give New Zealand a "heads-up" if new variants were arriving, he told RNZ. 

New history curriculum launched 

Ardern said formal enactment of the new curriculum would start next year. 

"One of the things that just got me was walking around the school and hearing the children speak with such confidence and pride," Ardern said. 

The PM referred to Tuia – 250, a commemoration in 2019 marking 250 years since the first onshore encounters between Māori and Pākehā. 

Ardern said in recent years there'd been a shift toward learning more about those encounters, and early Māori navigators. 

"Some of these conversations did bring out the different views that people had," Ardern added. 

She said history in schools gave people a better understanding of one another. 

Associate education minister Jan Tinetti said today signalled a review of the wider curriculum framework. 

The history and social studies curricula are first up in what Tinetti said was "a vision for young people created by young people". 

Tinetti said she was looking at how the National Library and Archives New Zealand could help teachers too. 

Ardern said no country had a perfect history, but at least New Zealanders were willing to learn "from every part of out stories".