New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern warns of more COVID-19 variants in 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic will not end with the Omicron variant and New Zealand will have to prepare for more variants of the virus this year, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Tuesday (Feb 8) in her first parliamentary speech for 2022. Ardern's warning came as hundreds of protesters gathered outside the parliament building in the capital Wellington, demanding an end to coronavirus restrictions and vaccine mandates. 'Mr Speaker, advice from experts is that Omicron will not be the last variant we will face this year,' Ardern told lawmakers in the speech which was livestreamed. 'It’s not over. But that doesn’t mean we cannot move forward. And keep making progress. And so we are,' she said.