Tuesday 17/March/2026 – 12:47 PM
New Zealand health authorities have declared a ninth wave of the coronavirus outbreak, as wastewater monitoring, which tracks virus fragments released into wastewater, similarly indicates a long-term year-on-year decline in coronavirus activity, according to local media.
Ninth wave outbreak in New Zealand
New Zealand no longer publishes updated reports on deaths attributed to the coronavirus, but previous data showed a clear downward trend. Deaths fell from a peak of 2,766 in 2022 to 664 in 2024, and remained well below that level before reporting stopped in mid-2025. Currently, there is no noticeable variant of the virus causing an increase in cases.
The spread of the Corona virus
Instead, wastewater surveillance shows subvariants of the Omicron strain are still dominant and circulating in the community, with NB.1.8.1 accounting for just over half of positive samples.
This means that the current wave likely reflects a combination of declining immunity, increased indoor contact in schools and workplaces, and the continued evolution of strains that can partially evade current immune protection.
In terms of overall impact on the population, recent seasons suggest that the burden of coronavirus in many countries is broadly similar to that of seasonal influenza. Both viruses cause significant illness each year and put a strain on health systems.
