New Zealand

In a statement, the Ministry of Health said a new death of a New Zealander with Covid-19 haas been recorded with a person passing away in a Bay of Plenty rest home. The person died of an unrelated medical condition while receiving palliative care and had tested positive for the coronavirus.

There are 146,527 known active community cases in New Zealand.

A shipment of 613 kilograms of the drug - with what police say is a retail value of more than $245 million - was stopped at Auckland Airport last Thursday.

Six people aged between 27 and 36 have been arrested and some have links to the Comancheros motorcycle gang.

Investigators made further enquiries into the intercepted shipment over recent days and search warrants were executed across South Auckland yesterday.

The Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta said the latest donation to COVAX will also support vaccination programmes in developing countries, including in parts of the Pacific and in Africa where immunisation rates are low.

New Zealand is contributing a further 7.3 million vaccines to COVAX including 5.8 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine and 1.5 million doses of Janssen vaccine.

Through New Zealand's Advance Purchase Agreement (APA) with Pfizer, paediatric vaccine doses are also being provided to countries in Polynesia.

In a statement, the Ministry of Health said the new cases are in Northland (16), Auckland (340), Waikato (48), Lakes (13), Bay of Plenty (14), Lakes (13), Taranaki (1), Hutt Valley (7), Capital & Coast (4), and Southern (3).

The ministry said the number of cases would continue to fluctuate from day-to-day but "our expectation is that cases will continue to increase in the coming weeks".

He did not show up to a court appearance at the Te Kūiti District Court on Wednesday and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

His lawyer Garth O'Brien told the court he had not heard from Phillips since he informed him of his court date.

Judge Phillip Crayton issued a warrant for his arrest.

Waikato West Police area commander Inspector Will Loughrin said Phillips is believed to be with his three children.

He would not say what police are doing to find him.

But Inspector Loughrin said they are receiving useful information from members of the public.

The highly transmissible variant has rapidly spread around the globe and New Zealand has dodged a community outbreak so far.

But with the escalating number of overseas returnees testing positive, there are fears a new wave of the virus could be out in the community within weeks.

Epidemiologist and University of Otago professor Michael Baker called the variant a "huge threat" and said it was not a matter of if there was an outbreak, but when.

The research, by Unitec's Dr Hoa Nguyen and Senior Lecturer David Kenkel, is based on the lived experiences of undocumented Tuvaluan migrants and their children, and forms a detailed picture of the desperate situation they face.

With assistance from the Tuvaluan Auckland Community Trust, the pair of academics conducted interviews with undocumented migrants and compiled the information they uncovered into this report.

"They're prioritising coordinating with the Pacific region - particularly Māori and Pasifika - as a key to maintaining an indigenous focus," she said.

Government officials plan to go to market early next year to speak with those interested in managing the fund.

New Zealand's Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth Phil Twyford said if things remain on track, investments for projects will made by the end of next year.

There are also two new cases identified at the border.

In a statement, the ministry also reported that several members of a flight crew have been identified as close contacts of an Omicron variant case in Australia.

"These crew members arrived in New Zealand last night and are in a MIQ facility, as per standard international air crew arrival procedure."

Of the new community cases today, 51 are in Auckland, 21 in Waikato, seven in Bay of Plenty and one in the Taupō district.

Anyone born after 2008 will not be able to buy cigarettes or tobacco products in their lifetime, under a law expected to be enacted next year.

"We want to make sure young people never start smoking," Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verall said.

The move is part of a sweeping crackdown on smoking announced by New Zealand's health ministry on Thursday.

Doctors and other health experts in the country have welcomed the "world-leading" reforms, which will reduce access to tobacco and restrict nicotine levels in cigarettes.