The Government responds to huge upswing in community cases with phase 2 of the Omicron response, centred on shortening the period of isolation and more use of RATs.

A day on, more than 5000 people are still without power in Bay of Plenty and more than 2000 in the Coromandel, Thames, Waihi and South Waikato areas combined.

Sheila and Noel Boddington are taking downsizing seriously - they have just sold their flash house in Titirangi and are buying a tiny house.

Fully vaccinated Kiwis returning from Australia in late February will spend seven days in self-isolation under phase 2 rules.

Emergency services were called to an assault on Glue Pl in Somerfield just after 6pm on Monday.

Police urged protesters to move their vehicles to free parking at Sky Stadium on Monday night to minimise disruption but few take up the offer straight away.

Matthew Myers was shocked when he was spat at through his driver's window, trying to pass through one of Wellington's main bus routes.

Queenstown snowboarder, who recovered from two years out with a shoulder injury and multiple surgeries, needed the jump of his life at the Olympics but crashed out.

A kitchen has sprung up near Parliament - just one of the ways protesters are sustaining themselves.

One hospitality owner has been forced to close nine out of their 11 venues as staff isolate, with the start of phase 2 expected to make little difference.

Seventy-five new cases have been identified in the past three days, including at a hospital and a prison.

Government shrinks isolation period and ups use of rapid tests as Covid-19 case numbers shoot up.

There will be far more use of rapid antigen testing and isolation periods shorten.

Most of the affected schools, 93, are in Auckland with 44 of them being primary schools.

From Clooney and J-Lo steaming up the screen, to Saoirse at her finest and an outrageous Maggie Gyllenhaal, these should more than satisfy.

The case had tested negative before flying to Rarotonga from Auckland last week.

The former deputy prime minister has thrown his support behind some of Parliament’s protesters, joining a cohort of former MPs calling for an immediate end to vaccine mandates.

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Queenstown and Papamoa also have locations linked to Covid-19 cases, according to the Ministry of Health.

After a busy rush hour, traffic has eased across Auckland, NZTA reports.