Is New Zealand ready to “Embrace” Omicron?

Or should we just quietly continue with our outstanding success to date?

Melbourne based epidemiologist Dr Tom Blakely recently suggested that now could be a good time for New Zealand to “embrace” Omicron, and that the “trick” is to control it.

As a New Zealander looking 2000 km across the Tasman Sea to Australia, there is a bit of reason for pessimistic thinking. As a self described incurable optimist for most of my adult life, this is hard for me to admit. Bluntly, Blakely’s notion of ‘controlling Omicron’ sounds to me unrealistic.

Sure, expressed as a proportion of known infections, or ‘cases’, Omicron can be manipulated to look a little benign, or at least better than Delta. However, I thought the number of daily cases in Australia were thought to be out this world at 20,000, then at 40,000. And yesterday, despite having a shortage of testing kits, despite some having to line up for hours to get tested, Australia had a whopping 130,598 recorded infections.

Medical resources in Australia are overwhelmed. Anyone seeking any urgent medical treatment in the affected east coast areas must wait.

And it is no longer just an overwhelmed medical system. Yesterday, Australia had 56 deaths, bringing the 7-day rolling average to…