New Zealand reports 2nd case of Omicron BA.4 variant
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E-mail Xinhua, May 2, 2022
WELLINGTON, May 2 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand reported its second case of Omicron BA.4 variant at the border with 6,636 community cases recorded on Monday.
The Ministry of Health said a second person who has travelled from overseas to New Zealand has been confirmed to be infected with the BA.4 sub-lineage of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
The first infection of the Omicron BA.4 variant in New Zealand was reported at the weekend. Both identified cases are currently isolating at their homes.
At this stage, the public health settings already in place to manage other Omicron variants are assessed to be appropriate for managing BA.4 and no changes are required, according to the health ministry.
Meanwhile, the country reported seven new COVID-19 related deaths on Monday.
In addition, there were 90 new COVID-19 cases detected at the New Zealand border.
The country has reported 940,151 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.
New Zealand is currently under the orange settings under its COVID-19 Protection Framework, where there is no limit for gatherings.
From midnight Sunday, New Zealand's borders have opened to visitors from 60 visa waiver countries for the first time since closing its international borders in March 2020 over COVID-19.
To prepare for the entry of a large number of visitors with COVID-19 tests required, the New Zealand government is partnering with Air New Zealand to trial an innovative new testing solution that uses Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) technology, Associate Minister of Health Ayesha Verrall said.
The "Lucira Check-It" test kits that are under trial are using the LAMP technology, with the test having the potential to combine the speed of rapid antigen tests (RATs) with the accuracy of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, Verrall said.
"LAMP tests are both cheaper than PCRs and more convenient: they are self-administered and provide results to users within 30 minutes. The accuracy of the LAMP test has already been established through clinical trials," she said. Enditem
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