Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: We've received advice from the Ministry of Health on how to get the balance right between effectively controlling the current Omicron outbreak and the flow-on effect on essential goods and services. Omicron and its transmissibility has meant that many more positive cases are being detected, but many also have moderate or mild symptoms. Our high vaccination rates are also contributing to that. As case numbers have increased, we're seeing large numbers of positive cases and their household contacts isolating. This is having a wider impact on many parts of our lives, including on our food supply chains and on businesses' day-to-day operations. The public health advice was that the societal impact of a longer isolation period outweighs the public health risk associated with a shorter isolation period. This is in line with similar changes made in other countries and with increasing international evidence that people are most likely to transmit the virus earlier in their infectious period.