The number of close contacts connected to UK artist Dimension, who is New Zealand’s first Omicron case active in the community, could be “somewhere around 100 people”.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said the number included those who had been at Auckland CBD nightclub Impala when he was, those who had dinner with him at Soul, and the housemates he was in isolation with on Waiheke Island.
READ MORE: Three of Omicron case's four Waiheke housemates test negative
The time out and about in the Auckland CBD encompasses Boxing Day and Monday.
Hipkins described the number of contacts as a “reasonably sizeable number” and said it was “disappointing” Dimension had not kept to only having contact with his isolation bubble. Social media posts show him visiting a beach on Christmas Day and he had drinks with his Waiheke neighbours.
READ MORE: DJ Dimension speaks out over abusive messages on social media
“We’ve gone from a situation where we could have had two or three close contacts to one where we’ve potentially got up to somewhere around 100 people, including some people who were expecting to perform. They’ve unwittingly or unknowingly found themselves in this situation.”
This includes UK DJ Friction, Kiwi duo Lee Mvtthews and now Kiwi DJ Sin Howard, who have all had to pull out of performing at Rhythm and Alps.
READ MORE: 'Extremely sorry' - Dimension confirms he is Omicron case
Hipkins said there are 14 close contacts who were at dinner with Dimension at Auckland’s Soul Bar, eight of whom remain in Auckland and are awaiting Covid-19 test results.
A further six flew via a charter plane to Christchurch, where they performed at music festival Hidden Lakes on Tuesday. The group had undergone saliva testing prior to flying, and before performing. All returned negative results.
The group of artists performed at the Hidden Lakes festival on Tuesday. (Source: 1News)
A total of 47 people at nightclub Impala have been identified as close contacts.
Dimension, also known as Robert Etheridge, arrived in the country on a flight from the UK via Doha on December 16 and returned three negative tests before testing positive on December 27, as a result of a day 9 test.
He left home isolation without waiting for the day 9 test to come back in what a Ministry of Health spokeswoman dubbed "self-releasing".
SHARE ME