Nine Covid-19 cases reported yesterday in the Nelson-Marlborough region have now been confirmed as the Omicron variant, and a further case from the same household was confirmed late yesterday. That means Omicron is now circulating in Auckland and possibly the Nelson-Marlborough region, if not elsewhere. On that basis, as we have previously signaled, the whole of New Zealand will move into the red setting of the traffic light system at 11:59 p.m. tonight, Sunday, Jan. 23. So, at red, in many ways, life carries on as per usual, but with more mask wearing and distancing precautions and reducing gathering limits to lower the risk of picking up the virus and super-spreader events. Red is not lockdown. At red, businesses stay open and you can do most of the things that you normally do, including visiting family and friends and moving around the country.