There are 49 new cases of Covid-19 in the community today as Auckland enters the orange traffic light ahead of New Year's Eve celebrations. 

There are no new Omicron cases in the community. Ten Omicron cases have been identified in MIQ, taking the total number of border cases of the variant to 88. 

Yesterday, a second case of the Omicron Covid-19 strain in the community was detected after an Air New Zealand crew member tested positive for the more infectious variant on December 27. 

Eight close contacts of that crew member are now isolating after the person arrived in Auckland from Sydney on Christmas Eve. 

Seven of those close contacts have returned negative results, but there as yet have been no locations of interest listed for the community Omicron exposure. 

Details of the exact movements of a British DJ infected with Omicron who spent two days in the Auckland community going to bars and restaurants and Waiheke Island are also yet to be fully clarified. 

The uncertainty on Covid-19 locations of interest in Auckland comes as large New Year's Eve crowds will be allowed to gather in Auckland for the first time since August as it moved from red to the orange setting of the Covid-19 framework at midnight last night. 

Taupō, Rotorua lakes districts, Kawerau, Whakatāne, Ōpōtiki, Gisborne, Wairoa, Rangitīkei, Whanganui and Ruapehu districts also moved to orange at midnight last night, leaving just Northland in red. 

This will be the final traffic light shift this year before Cabinet reviews the settings in mid-January. 

DJ Dimension, real name Robert Etheridge, had travelled to New Zealand on December 16 to perform at the Rhythm & Alps festival. 

The British DJ spent seven days in MIQ, before then transferring to an approved beachside location for MIQ. 

Etheridge ended his stint and spent two days in the community – including going to Auckland bars and restaurants and Waiheke Island – before he got the results of his day-nine Covid test; the one which would come back as positive. 

Testing is available on Waiheke Island today. 

Anyone who attended the Hidden Lakes Festival – where a close contact of the DJ performed – and is concerned should ring Healthline, the ministry said. 

Only a small number of contacts of this case attended the festival, all of whom had negative tests beforehand. The public health risk is considered low, the ministry said. 

At this stage, there are no known contacts or cases associated with Rhythm & Alps festival. 

A further interview with the DJ is underway to determine additional locations of interest, the ministry said. 

The ministry said Etheridge arrived on December 16 and as required under the previous regime for international arrivals, completed a full 10 days in isolation; seven days in a managed isolation facility and three days in self-isolation. 

Etheridge was tested on day nine but did not wait for a negative test result before self-releasing. 

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said the Government asks people to stay in their bubbles while self-isolating. 

"That hasn't been the case here and that's very disappointing. 

"It is of course a reminder that while many of us feel like we're over Covid, Covid-19 is not over with us." 

Etheridge has travelled to New Zealand on a critical purpose visa three times since March 2020. 

Epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker said New Zealand's current Covid settings are working well for the Delta variant - but will need to be adapted once Omicron has properly infiltrated the community. 

"At the moment our settings are not tuned to Omicron at all and we have to do a very rapid review of policy settings, really the pandemic settings, if we had Omicron spreading widely," Baker said. 

"Basically, if Omicron is in the community, we could have a real problem because it will spread really rapidly. And the main reason it spreads really rapidly this variant seems to be both inherently more infectious - it's probably due to producing larger number of viral particles, larger viral load in parts of the airwaves - and secondly it evades some of the immunity, particularly the antibody immunity generated by the Pfizer vaccine. 

"So it would spread really rapidly if was established in Auckland from now from either or both of those [recent community] sources then it is going to spread widely and it's going to be very hard to contain." 

- by Tom Dillane, NZ Herald