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Russia continues bombing Ukraine and is now sending tanks and soldiers over

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KIDNAP

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Guys we need to find a house

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_III

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BY THE GOAT JEREMIAH

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should not be driving.

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Influenza

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In the early 21st century, anxiety over the danger of Influenza A virus subtypes H5N1 (avian flu) and H1N1 (swine flu), and the COVID-19 coronavirus, has revived interest in New Zealand's worst disease outbreak, the lethal influenza pandemic that struck between October and December 1918. In two months New Zealand lost about half as many people to influenza as it had in the whole of the First World War. No other event has killed so many New Zealanders in such a short time.

Many people believed that this severe form of influenza was borne by 'a deadly new virus' that arrived on the Royal Mail liner Niagara on 12 October, but this is unlikely to have been the case. However the pandemic arose, by the time it eased in December about 9000 New Zealanders had died. Māori suffered heavily, with about 2500 deaths. But death did not occur evenly among either Māori or Pākehā. Some communities were decimated, while others escaped largely unscathed. The only places struck with uniform severity were military camps.

There were consistencies, though, in the ways in which the country responded to the crisis. Committees were established to coordinate relief efforts, and areas were divided into blocks or districts, each with its own depot or bureau. Many public facilities and businesses closed, and public events and gatherings were postponed. With the medical workforce already stretched due to the war, volunteers filled the gaps, whether in their own household or in their local community.

In the aftermath, the public sought answers from the government. What they got was a major reorganisation in the form of the 1920 Health Act, which Geoffrey Rice, author of Black November: the 1918 influenza pandemic in New Zealand, describes as 'the most useful legacy' of the pandemic.

COVID-19 (novel coronavirus)

See the Ministry of Health website for information about New Zealand's response to COVID-19 (novel coronavirus).

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In the early 21st century, anxiety over the danger of Influenza A virus subtypes H5N1 (avian flu) and H1N1 (swine flu), and the COVID-19 coronavirus, has revived interest in New Zealand's worst disease outbreak, the lethal influenza pandemic that struck between October and December 1918.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Whakaari_/_White_Island_eruption#:~:text=On%209%20December%202019%20Whakaari,the%20island%20at%20the%20time.

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US civil war

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American Civil War

Clockwise from top:

Belligerents

United States

Confederate States

Commanders and leaders

Abraham Lincoln X
Ulysses S. Grant
and others...

Jefferson Davis
Robert E. Lee
and others...

Strength

2,200,000[b]
698,000 (peak)[3][4]

750,000-1,000,000[b]
360,000 (peak)[3][6]

Casualties and losses

110,000+ † / (DOW)

230,000+ accident/disease deaths[7][8]

25,000-30,000 died in Confederate prisons[3][7]

365,000+ total dead[9]

Total: 828,000+ casualties

94,000+ † / (DOW)[7]

26,000-31,000 died in Union prisons[8]

290,000+ total dead

Total: 864,000+ casualties

50,000 free civilians dead[10]

80,000+ slaves dead (disease)[11]

Total: 616,222[12]-1,000,000+ dead[13][14]

The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 - May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), which had been formed by states that had seceded from the Union. The cause of the war was the dispute over whether slavery would be permitted to expand into the western territories, leading to more slave states, or be prevented from doing so, which many believed would place slavery on a course of ultimate extinction.

Decades of political controversy over slavery were brought to a head by the victory in the 1860 U.S. presidential election of Abraham Lincoln, who opposed slavery's expansion into the western territories. Seven southern slave states responded to Lincoln's victory by seceding from the United States and forming the Confederacy. The Confederacy seized U.S. forts and other federal assets within their borders. Four more southern states seceded after the war began and, led by Confederate President Jefferson Davis, the Confederacy asserted control over about a third of the U.S. population in eleven states. Four years of intense combat, mostly in the South, ensued.

During 1861-1862 in the Western Theater, the Union made significant permanent gains-though in the Eastern Theater the conflict was inconclusive. The abolition of slavery became a Union war goal on January 1, 1863, when Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared all slaves in rebel states to be free, which applied to more than 3.5 million of the 4 million enslaved people in the country. To the west, the Union first destroyed the Confederacy's river navy by the summer of 1862, then much of its western armies, and later seized New Orleans. The successful 1863 Union siege of Vicksburg split the Confederacy in two at the Mississippi River. In 1863, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's incursion north ended at the Battle of Gettysburg. Western successes led to General Ulysses S. Grant's command of all Union armies in 1864. Inflicting an ever-tightening naval blockade of Confederate ports, the Union marshaled resources and manpower to attack the Confederacy from all directions. This led to the fall of Atlanta in 1864 to Union General William Tecumseh Sherman, followed by his March to the Sea. The last significant battles raged around the ten-month Siege of Petersburg, gateway to the Confederate capital of Richmond. The Confederates abandoned Richmond, and on April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered to Grant following the Battle of Appomattox Court House, setting in motion the end of the war.

A wave of Confederate surrenders followed. On April 14, just five days after Lee's surrender, Lincoln was assassinated. On May 26, the last military department of the Confederacy, the Department of the Trans-Mississippi, effectively surrendered, but the conclusion of the American Civil War lacks a clear end date, and Appomattox is often symbolically referred to. Small confederate ground forces continued surrendering past the May 26 surrender date until June 23. By the end of the war, much of the South's infrastructure was destroyed, especially its railroads. The Confederacy collapsed, slavery was abolished, and four million enslaved black people were freed. The war-torn nation then entered the Reconstruction era in an attempt to rebuild the country, bring the former Confederate states back into the United States, and grant civil rights to freed slaves.

The Civil War is one of the most extensively studied and written about episodes in U.S. history. It remains the subject of cultural and historiographical debate. Of particular interest is the persisting myth of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy. The American Civil War was among the first wars to use industrial warfare. Railroads, the telegraph, steamships, the ironclad warship, and mass-produced weapons were all widely used during the war. In total, the war left between 620,000 and 750,000 soldiers dead, along with an undetermined number of civilian casualties, making the Civil War the deadliest military conflict in American history. The technology and brutality of the Civil War foreshadowed the coming World Wars.

Causes of secession

Status of the states, 1861

Slave states that seceded before April 15, 1861

Slave states that seceded after April 15, 1861

Border Southern states that permitted slavery but did not secede (both KY and MO had dual competing Confederate and Unionist governments)

Union states that banned slavery

The reasons for the Southern states' decisions to secede have been historically controversial, but most scholars today identify preserving slavery as the central reason, in large part because the seceding states' secession documents say that it was. Although some historical revisionists have offered additional reasons for the war, slavery was the central source of escalating political tensions in the 1850s. The Republican Party was determined to prevent any spread of slavery to the territories, which, after they were admitted as free states, would give the free states greater representation in Congress and the Electoral College. Many Southern leaders had threatened secession if the Republican candidate, Lincoln, won the 1860 election. After Lincoln won, many Southern leaders felt that disunion was their only option, fearing that the loss of representation would hamper their ability to enact pro-slavery laws and policies. In his second inaugural address, Lincoln said that:

slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was, somehow, the cause of the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for which the insurgents would rend the Union, even by war; while the government claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it.

Disagreements among states about the future of slavery were the main cause of disunion and the war that followed. Slavery had been controversial during the framing of the Constitution, which, because of compromises, ended up with proslavery and antislavery features. The issue of slavery had confounded the nation since its inception and increasingly separated the United States into a slaveholding South and a free North. The issue was exacerbated by the rapid territorial expansion of the country, which repeatedly brought to the fore the question of whether new territory should be slaveholding or free. The issue had dominated politics for decades leading up to the war. Key attempts to resolve the matter included the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850, but these only postponed the showdown over slavery that would lead to the Civil War.

The motivations of the average person were not necessarily those of their faction; some Northern soldiers were indifferent on the subject of slavery, but a general pattern can be established. As the war dragged on, more and more Unionists came to support the abolition of slavery, whether on moral grounds or as a means to cripple the Confederacy. Confederate soldiers fought the war primarily to protect a Southern society of which slavery was an integral part. Opponents of slavery considered slavery an anachronistic evil incompatible with republicanism. The strategy of the anti-slavery forces was containment-to stop the expansion of slavery and thereby put it on a path to ultimate extinction. The slaveholding interests in the South denounced this strategy as infringing upon their constitutional rights. Southern whites believed that the emancipation of slaves would destroy the South's economy, because of the large amount of capital invested in slaves and fears of integrating the ex-slave black population. In particular, many Southerners feared a repeat of the 1804 Haiti massacre (referred to at the time as "the horrors of Santo Domingo"), in which former slaves systematically murdered most of what was left of the country's white population-including men, women, children, and even many sympathetic to abolition-after the successful slave revolt in Haiti. Historian Thomas Fleming points to the historical phrase "a disease in the public mind" used by critics of this idea and proposes it contributed to the segregation in the Jim Crow era following emancipation. These fears were exacerbated by the 1859 attempt of John Brown to instigate an armed slave rebellion in the South.

Abolitionists

Uncle Tom's Cabin, authored by Harriet Beecher Stowe and published in 1852, helped enlighten the public to slavery's evil and contributed to increased American opposition to it. According to an apocryphal story, when Lincoln was introduced to Stowe at the White House, his first words were, "So this is the little lady who started this Great War."[37][38]

The abolitionists-those advocating the end of slavery-were active in the decades leading up to the Civil War. They traced their philosophical roots back to Puritans, who believed that slavery was morally wrong. One of the early Puritan writings on this subject was The Selling of Joseph, by Samuel Sewall in 1700. In it, Sewall condemned slavery and the slave trade and refuted many of the era's typical justifications for slavery.

The American Revolution and the cause of liberty added tremendous impetus to the abolitionist cause. Even in Southern states, laws were changed to limit slavery and facilitate manumission. The amount of indentured servitude dropped dramatically throughout the country. An Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves sailed through Congress with little opposition. President Thomas Jefferson supported it, and it went into effect on January 1, 1808, which was the first day that the Constitution (Article I, section 9, clause 1) permitted Congress to prohibit the importation of slaves. Benjamin Franklin and James Madison each helped found manumission societies. Influenced by the American Revolution, many slave owners freed their slaves, but some, such as George Washington, did so only in their wills. The number of free black people as a proportion of the black population in the upper South increased from less than one percent to nearly 10 percent between 1790 and 1810 as a result of these actions.

The establishment of the Northwest Territory as "free soil"-no slavery-by Manasseh Cutler and Rufus Putnam (who both came from Puritan New England) would also prove crucial. This territory (which became the states of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and part of Minnesota) doubled the size of the United States.

In the decades leading up to the Civil War, abolitionists, such as Theodore Parker, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Frederick Douglass, repeatedly used the Puritan heritage of the country to bolster their cause. The most radical anti-slavery newspaper, The Liberator, invoked the Puritans and Puritan values over a thousand times. Parker, in urging New England congressmen to support the abolition of slavery, wrote, "The son of the Puritan ... is sent to Congress to stand up for Truth and Right." Literature served as a means to spread the message to common folks. Key works included Twelve Years a Slave, the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, American Slavery as It Is, and the most important: Uncle Tom's Cabin, the best-selling book of the 19th century aside from the Bible.

A more unusual abolitionist than those named above was Hinton Rowan Helper, whose 1857 book, The Impending Crisis of the South: How to Meet It, "[e]ven more perhaps than Uncle Tom's Cabin ... fed the fires of sectional controversy leading up to the Civil War." A Southerner and a virulent racist, Helper was nevertheless an abolitionist because he believed, and showed with statistics, that slavery "impeded the progress and prosperity of the South, ... dwindled our commerce, and other similar pursuits, into the most contemptible insignificance; sunk a large majority of our people in galling poverty and ignorance, ... [and] entailed upon us a humiliating dependence on the Free States...."

By 1840 more than 15,000 people were members of abolitionist societies in the United States. Abolitionism in the United States became a popular expression of moralism, and led directly to the Civil War. In churches, conventions and newspapers, reformers promoted an absolute and immediate rejection of slavery. Support for abolition among the religious was not universal though. As the war approached, even the main denominations split along political lines, forming rival Southern and Northern churches. For example, in 1845 the Baptists split into the Northern Baptists and Southern Baptists over the issue of slavery.

Abolitionist sentiment was not strictly religious or moral in origin. The Whig Party became increasingly opposed to slavery because it saw it as inherently against the ideals of capitalism and the free market. Whig leader William H. Seward (who would serve as Lincoln's secretary of state) proclaimed that there was an "irrepressible conflict" between slavery and free labor, and that slavery had left the South backward and undeveloped. As the Whig party dissolved in the 1850s, the mantle of abolition fell to its newly formed successor, the Republican Party.

Territorial crisis

The Mexican-American War and its aftermath was a key territorial event in the leadup to the war. As the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo finalized the conquest of northern Mexico west to California in 1848, slaveholding interests looked forward to expanding into these lands and perhaps Cuba and Central America as well. Prophetically, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote that "Mexico will poison us", referring to the ensuing divisions around whether the newly conquered lands would end up slave or free. Northern free-soil interests vigorously sought to curtail any further expansion of slave territory. The Compromise of 1850 over California balanced a free-soil state with a stronger federal fugitive slave law for a political settlement after four years of strife in the 1840s. But the states admitted following California were all free: Minnesota (1858), Oregon (1859), and Kansas (1861). In the Southern states, the question of the territorial expansion of slavery westward again became explosive. Both the South and the North drew the same conclusion: "The power to decide the question of slavery for the territories was the power to determine the future of slavery itself." Soon after the Utah Territory legalized slavery in 1852, the Utah War of 1857 saw Mormon settlers in the Utah territory fighting the US government.

By 1860, four doctrines had emerged to answer the question of federal control in the territories, and they all claimed they were sanctioned by the Constitution, implicitly or explicitly. The first of these theories, represented by the Constitutional Union Party, argued that the Missouri Compromise apportionment of territory north for free soil and south for slavery should become a constitutional mandate. The failed Crittenden Compromise of 1860 was an expression of this view.

The second doctrine of congressional preeminence was championed by Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party. It insisted that the Constitution did not bind legislators to a policy of balance-that slavery could be excluded in a territory, as it was in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, at the discretion of Congress. Thus Congress could restrict human bondage, but never establish it. The ill-fated Wilmot Proviso announced this position in 1846. The Proviso was a pivotal moment in national politics, as it was the first time slavery had become a major congressional issue based on sectionalism, instead of party lines. Its support by Northern Democrats and Whigs, and opposition by Southerners, was a dark omen of coming divisions.

Senator Stephen A. Douglas proclaimed the third doctrine: territorial or "popular" sovereignty, which asserted that the settlers in a territory had the same rights as states in the Union to allow or disallow slavery as a purely local matter. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 legislated this doctrine. In the Kansas Territory, political conflict spawned " Bleeding Kansas", a five-year paramilitary conflict between pro- and anti-slavery supporters. The U.S. House of Representatives voted to admit Kansas as a free state in early 1860, but its admission did not pass the Senate until January 1861, after the departure of Southern senators.

The fourth doctrine was advocated by Mississippi Senator (and soon to be Confederate President) Jefferson Davis. It was one of state sovereignty ("states' rights"), also known as the "Calhoun doctrine", named after the South Carolinian political theorist and statesman John C. Calhoun. Rejecting the arguments for federal authority or self-government, state sovereignty would empower states to promote the expansion of slavery as part of the federal union under the U.S. Constitution. These four doctrines comprised the dominant ideologies presented to the American public on the matters of slavery, the territories, and the U.S. Constitution before the 1860 presidential election.

States' rights

A long-running dispute over the origin of the Civil War is to what extent states' rights triggered the conflict. The consensus among historians is that the Civil War was not fought about states' rights. But the issue is frequently referenced in popular accounts of the war and has much traction among Southerners. Southerners advocating secession argued that just as each state had decided to join the Union, a state had the right to secede-leave the Union-at any time. Northerners (including pro-slavery President Buchanan) rejected that notion as opposed to the will of the Founding Fathers, who said they were setting up a perpetual union.

Historian James McPherson points out that even if Confederates genuinely fought over states' rights, it boiled down to states' right to slavery. McPherson writes concerning states' rights and other non-slavery explanations:

While one or more of these interpretations remain popular among the Sons of Confederate Veterans and other Southern heritage groups, few professional historians now subscribe to them. Of all these interpretations, the states'-rights argument is perhaps the weakest. It fails to ask the question, states' rights for what purpose? States' rights, or sovereignty, was always more a means than an end, an instrument to achieve a certain goal more than a principle.

States' rights was an ideology formulated and applied as a means of advancing slave state interests through federal authority. As historian Thomas L. Krannawitter points out, the "Southern demand for federal slave protection represented a demand for an unprecedented expansion of Federal power." Before the Civil War, the Southern states supported the use of federal powers to enforce and extend slavery, as with the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision. The faction that pushed for secession often infringed on states' rights. Because of the overrepresentation of pro-slavery factions in the federal government, many Northerners, even non-abolitionists, feared the Slave Power conspiracy. Some Northern states resisted the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act. Historian Eric Foner states that the act "could hardly have been designed to arouse greater opposition in the North. It overrode numerous state and local laws and legal procedures and 'commanded' individual citizens to assist, when called upon, in capturing runaways." He continues, "It certainly did not reveal, on the part of slaveholders, sensitivity to states' rights." According to historian Paul Finkelman, "the southern states mostly complained that the northern states were asserting their states' rights and that the national government was not powerful enough to counter these northern claims." The Confederate Constitution also "federally" required slavery to be legal in all Confederate states and claimed territories.

Sectionalism

Sectionalism resulted from the different economies, social structure, customs, and political values of the North and South. Regional tensions came to a head during the War of 1812, resulting in the Hartford Convention, which manifested Northern dissatisfaction with a foreign trade embargo that affected the industrial North disproportionately, the Three-Fifths Compromise, dilution of Northern power by new states, and a succession of Southern presidents. Sectionalism increased steadily between 1800 and 1860 as the North, which phased slavery out of existence, industrialized, urbanized, and built prosperous farms, while the deep South concentrated on plantation agriculture based on slave labor, together with subsistence agriculture for poor whites. In the 1840s and 1850s, the issue of accepting slavery (in the guise of rejecting slave-owning bishops and missionaries) split the nation's largest religious denominations (the Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian churches) into separate Northern and Southern denominations.

Historians have debated whether economic differences between the mainly industrial North and the mainly agricultural South helped cause the war. Most historians now disagree with the economic determinism of historian Charles A. Beard in the 1920s, and emphasize that Northern and Southern economies were largely complementary. While socially different, the sections economically benefited each other.

Protectionism

Owners of slaves preferred low-cost manual labor with no mechanization. Northern manufacturing interests supported tariffs and protectionism while Southern planters demanded free trade. The Democrats in Congress, controlled by Southerners, wrote the tariff laws in the 1830s, 1840s, and 1850s, and kept reducing rates so that the 1857 rates were the lowest since 1816. The Republicans called for an increase in tariffs in the 1860 election. The increases were only enacted in 1861 after Southerners resigned their seats in Congress. The tariff issue was a Northern grievance. However, neo-Confederate writers have claimed it as a Southern grievance. In 1860-61 none of the groups that proposed compromises to head off secession raised the tariff issue. Pamphleteers from the North and the South rarely mentioned the tariff.

Nationalism and honor

Perceived insults to Southern collective honor included the enormous popularity of Uncle Tom's Cabin and abolitionist John Brown's attempt to incite a slave rebellion in 1859.

Lincoln's election

Mathew Brady's Portrait of Abraham Lincoln, 1860

The election of Abraham Lincoln in November 1860 was the final trigger for secession. Southern leaders feared that Lincoln would stop the expansion of slavery and put it on a course toward extinction. However, Lincoln would not be inaugurated until five months after the election, which gave the South time to secede and prepare for war in the winter and spring of 1861.

According to Lincoln, the American people had shown that they had been successful in establishing and administering a republic, but a third challenge faced the nation: maintaining a republic based on the people's vote, in the face of an attempt to destroy it.

Outbreak of the war

Secession crisis

The election of Lincoln provoked the legislature of South Carolina to call a state convention to consider secession. Before the war, South Carolina did more than any other Southern state to advance the notion that a state had the right to nullify federal laws, and even to secede from the United States. The convention unanimously voted to secede on December 20, 1860, and adopted a secession declaration. It argued for states' rights for slave owners in the South, but contained a complaint about states' rights in the North in the form of opposition to the Fugitive Slave Act, claiming that Northern states were not fulfilling their federal obligations under the Constitution. The "cotton states" of Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas followed suit, seceding in January and February 1861.

The first published imprint of secession, a broadside issued by the Charleston Mercury, December 20, 1860

Among the ordinances of secession passed by the individual states, those of three-Texas, Alabama, and Virginia-specifically mentioned the plight of the "slaveholding states" at the hands of Northern abolitionists. The rest make no mention of the slavery issue and are often brief announcements of the dissolution of ties by the legislatures. However, at least four states-South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, and Texas-also passed lengthy and detailed explanations of their reasons for secession, all of which laid the blame squarely on the movement to abolish slavery and that movement's influence over the politics of the Northern states. The Southern states believed slaveholding was a constitutional right because of the Fugitive Slave Clause of the Constitution. These states agreed to form a new federal government, the Confederate States of America, on February 4, 1861. They took control of federal forts and other properties within their boundaries with little resistance from outgoing President James Buchanan, whose term ended on March 4, 1861. Buchanan said that the Dred Scott decision was proof that the South had no reason for secession, and that the Union "was intended to be perpetual", but that "The power by force of arms to compel a State to remain in the Union" was not among the "enumerated powers granted to Congress". One-quarter of the U.S. Army-the entire garrison in Texas-was surrendered in February 1861 to state forces by its commanding general, David E. Twiggs, who then joined the Confederacy.

As Southerners resigned their seats in the Senate and the House, Republicans were able to pass projects that had been blocked by Southern senators before the war. These included the Morrill Tariff, land grant colleges (the Morrill Act), a Homestead Act, a transcontinental railroad (the Pacific Railroad Acts), the National Bank Act, the authorization of United States Notes by the Legal Tender Act of 1862, and the ending of slavery in the District of Columbia. The Revenue Act of 1861 introduced the income tax to help finance the war.

In December 1860, the Crittenden Compromise was proposed to re-establish the Missouri Compromise line by constitutionally banning slavery in territories to the north of the line while guaranteeing it to the south. The adoption of this compromise likely would have prevented the secession of the Southern states, but Lincoln and the Republicans rejected it. Lincoln stated that any compromise that would extend slavery would in time bring down the Union. A pre-war February Peace Conference of 1861 met in Washington, proposing a solution similar to that of the Crittenden compromise; it was rejected by Congress. The Republicans proposed an alternative compromise to not interfere with slavery where it existed but the South regarded it as insufficient. Nonetheless, the remaining eight slave states rejected pleas to join the Confederacy following a two-to-one no-vote in Virginia's First Secessionist Convention on April 4, 1861.

On March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln was sworn in as president. In his inaugural address, he argued that the Constitution was a more perfect union than the earlier Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, that it was a binding contract, and called any secession "legally void". He had no intent to invade Southern states, nor did he intend to end slavery where it existed, but said that he would use force to maintain possession of federal property, including forts, arsenals, mints, and customhouses that had been seized by the Southern states. The government would make no move to recover post offices, and if resisted, mail delivery would end at state lines. Where popular conditions did not allow peaceful enforcement of federal law, U.S. marshals and judges would be withdrawn. No mention was made of bullion lost from U.S. mints in Louisiana, Georgia, and North Carolina. He stated that it would be U.S. policy to only collect import duties at its ports; there could be no serious injury to the South to justify the armed revolution during his administration. His speech closed with a plea for restoration of the bonds of union, famously calling on "the mystic chords of memory" binding the two regions.

Complicating Lincoln's attempts to defuse the crisis were the actions of the new Secretary of State, William Seward. Seward had been Lincoln's main rival for the Republican presidential nomination. Shocked and embittered by this defeat, Seward agreed to support Lincoln's candidacy only after he was guaranteed the executive office that was considered at that time to be the most powerful and important after the presidency itself. Even in the early stages of Lincoln's presidency Seward still held little regard for the new chief executive due to his perceived inexperience, and therefore Seward viewed himself as the head of government or " prime minister" behind the throne of Lincoln. In this role, Seward attempted to engage in unauthorized and indirect negotiations that failed. However, President Lincoln was determined to hold all remaining Union-occupied forts in the Confederacy: Fort Monroe in Virginia, Fort Pickens, Fort Jefferson and Fort Taylor in Florida, and Fort Sumter in South Carolina.

Battle of Fort Sumter

The American Civil War began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces opened fire on the Union-held Fort Sumter. Fort Sumter is located in the middle of the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. Its status had been contentious for months. Outgoing President Buchanan had dithered in reinforcing the Union garrison in the harbor, which was under command of Major Robert Anderson. Anderson took matters into his own hands and on December 26, 1860, under the cover of darkness, sailed the garrison from the poorly placed Fort Moultrie to the stalwart island Fort Sumter. Anderson's actions catapulted him to hero status in the North. An attempt to resupply the fort on January 9, 1861, failed and nearly started the war then and there. But an informal truce held. On March 5, the newly sworn in Lincoln was informed that the Fort was running low on supplies.

Fort Sumter proved to be one of the main challenges of the new Lincoln administration. Back-channel dealing by Secretary of State Seward with the Confederates undermined Lincoln's decision-making; Seward wanted to pull out of the fort. But a firm hand by Lincoln tamed Seward, and Seward became one of Lincoln's staunchest allies. Lincoln ultimately decided that holding the fort, which would require reinforcing it, was the only workable option. Thus, on April 6, Lincoln informed the Governor of South Carolina that a ship with food but no ammunition would attempt to supply the Fort. Historian McPherson describes this win-win approach as "the first sign of the mastery that would mark Lincoln's presidency"; the Union would win if it could resupply and hold onto the Fort, and the South would be the aggressor if it opened fire on an unarmed ship supplying starving men. An April 9 Confederate cabinet meeting resulted in President Davis's ordering General P. G. T. Beauregard to take the Fort before supplies could reach it.

At 4:30 am on April 12, Confederate forces fired the first of 4,000 shells at the Fort; it fell the next day. The loss of Fort Sumter lit a patriotic fire under the North. On April 15, Lincoln called on the states to field 75,000 volunteer troops for 90 days; impassioned Union states met the quotas quickly. On May 3, 1861, Lincoln called for an additional 42,000 volunteers for a period of three years. Shortly after this, Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, and North Carolina seceded and joined the Confederacy. To reward Virginia, the Confederate capital was moved to Richmond.

Attitude of the border states

US Secession map. The Union vs. the Confederacy.

Union territories not permitting slavery

(One of these states, West Virginia, was created in 1863, while KY and MO had dual competing Confederate and Unionist governments)

Union territories that permitted slavery (claimed by Confederacy) at the start of the war, but where slavery was outlawed by the U.S. in 1862

Maryland, Delaware, Missouri, and Kentucky were slave states whose people had divided loyalties to Northern and Southern businesses and family members. Some men enlisted in the Union Army and others in the Confederate Army. West Virginia separated from Virginia and was admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863.

Maryland's territory surrounded the United States' capital of Washington, D.C., and could cut it off from the North. It had numerous anti-Lincoln officials who tolerated anti-army rioting in Baltimore and the burning of bridges, both aimed at hindering the passage of troops to the South. Maryland's legislature voted overwhelmingly (53-13) to stay in the Union, but also rejected hostilities with its southern neighbors, voting to close Maryland's rail lines to prevent them from being used for war. Lincoln responded by establishing martial law and unilaterally suspending habeas corpus in Maryland, along with sending in militia units from the North. Lincoln rapidly took control of Maryland and the District of Columbia by seizing many prominent figures, including arresting 1/3 of the members of the Maryland General Assembly on the day it reconvened. All were held without trial, with Lincoln ignoring a ruling on June 1, 1861, by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney, not speaking for the Court, that only Congress (and not the president) could suspend habeas corpus (Ex parte Merryman). Federal troops imprisoned a prominent Baltimore newspaper editor, Frank Key Howard, Francis Scott Key's grandson, after he criticized Lincoln in an editorial for ignoring Taney's ruling.

In Missouri, an elected convention on secession voted decisively to remain within the Union. When pro-Confederate Governor Claiborne F. Jackson called out the state militia, it was attacked by federal forces under General Nathaniel Lyon, who chased the governor and the rest of the State Guard to the southwestern corner of the state ( see also: Missouri secession). Early in the war the Confederacy controlled the southern portion of Missouri through the Confederate government of Missouri but was largely driven out of the state after 1862. In the resulting vacuum, the convention on secession reconvened and took power as the Unionist provisional government of Missouri.

After Virginia's secession, a Unionist government in Wheeling asked 48 counties to vote on an ordinance to create a new state on October 24, 1861. A voter turnout of 34 percent approved the statehood bill (96 percent approving). Twenty-four secessionist counties were included in the new state, and the ensuing guerrilla war engaged about 40,000 federal troops for much of the war. Congress admitted West Virginia to the Union on June 20, 1863. West Virginia provided about 20,000-22,000 soldiers to both the Confederacy and the Union.

The Civil War was a contest marked by the ferocity and frequency of battle. Over four years, 237 named battles were fought, as were many more minor actions and skirmishes, which were often characterized by their bitter intensity and high casualties. In his book The American Civil War, British historian John Keegan writes that "The American Civil War was to prove one of the most ferocious wars ever fought". In many cases, without geographic objectives, the only target for each side was the enemy's soldier.

Mobilization

As the first seven states began organizing a Confederacy in Montgomery, the entire U.S. army numbered 16,000. However, Northern governors had begun to mobilize their militias. The Confederate Congress authorized the new nation up to 100,000 troops sent by governors as early as February. By May, Jefferson Davis was pushing for 100,000 soldiers for one year or the duration, and that was answered in kind by the U.S. Congress.

When the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect in January 1863, ex-slaves were energetically recruited by the states and used to meet the state quotas. States and local communities offered higher and higher cash bonuses for white volunteers. Congress tightened the law in March 1863. Men selected in the draft could provide substitutes or, until mid-1864, pay commutation money. Many eligibles pooled their money to cover the cost of anyone drafted. Families used the substitute provision to select which man should go into the army and which should stay home. There was much evasion and overt resistance to the draft, especially in Catholic areas. The draft riot in New York City in July 1863 involved Irish immigrants who had been signed up as citizens to swell the vote of the city's Democratic political machine, not realizing it made them liable for the draft. Of the 168,649 men procured for the Union through the draft, 117,986 were substitutes, leaving only 50,663 who had their services conscripted.

In both the North and South, the draft laws were highly unpopular. In the North, some 120,000 men evaded conscription, many of them fleeing to Canada, and another 280,000 soldiers deserted during the war. At least 100,000 Southerners deserted, or about 10 percent; Southern desertion was high because, according to one historian writing in 1991, the highly localized Southern identity meant that many Southern men had little investment in the outcome of the war, with individual soldiers caring more about the fate of their local area than any grand ideal. In the North, " bounty jumpers" enlisted to get the generous bonus, deserted, then went back to a second recruiting station under a different name to sign up again for a second bonus; 141 were caught and executed.

Historian Elizabeth D. Leonard writes that, according to various estimates, between five hundred and one thousand women enlisted as soldiers on both sides of the war, disguised as men.: 165, 310-11  Women also served as spies, resistance activists, nurses, and hospital personnel. Women served on the Union hospital ship Red Rover and nursed Union and Confederate troops at field hospitals.

Mary Edwards Walker, the only woman ever to receive the Medal of Honor, served in the Union Army and was given the medal for her efforts to treat the wounded during the war. Her name was deleted from the Army Medal of Honor Roll in 1917 (along with over 900 other Medal of Honor recipients); however, it was restored in 1977.

Clashes on the rivers were melees of ironclads, cottonclads, gunboats and rams, complicated by naval mines and fire rafts.

Battle between the USS Monitor and Merrimack

The small U.S. Navy of 1861 was rapidly enlarged to 6,000 officers and 45,000 sailors in 1865, with 671 vessels, having a tonnage of 510,396. Its mission was to blockade Confederate ports, take control of the river system, defend against Confederate raiders on the high seas, and be ready for a possible war with the British Royal Navy. Meanwhile, the main riverine war was fought in the West, where a series of major rivers gave access to the Confederate heartland. The U.S. Navy eventually gained control of the Red, Tennessee, Cumberland, Mississippi, and Ohio rivers. In the East, the Navy shelled Confederate forts and provided support for coastal army operations.

The Confederacy experimented with the submarine CSS Hunley, which did not work satisfactorily, and with building an ironclad ship, CSS Virginia, which was based on rebuilding a sunken Union ship, Merrimack. On its first foray, on March 8, 1862, Virginia inflicted significant damage to the Union's wooden fleet, but the next day the first Union ironclad, USS Monitor, arrived to challenge it in the Chesapeake Bay. The resulting three-hour Battle of Hampton Roads was a draw, but it proved that ironclads were effective warships. Not long after the battle, the Confederacy was forced to scuttle the Virginia to prevent its capture, while the Union built many copies of the Monitor. Lacking the technology and infrastructure to build effective warships, the Confederacy attempted to obtain warships from Great Britain. However, this failed, because Great Britain had no interest in selling warships to a nation that was at war with a stronger enemy, and doing so could sour relations with the U.S.

Union blockade

By early 1861, General Winfield Scott had devised the Anaconda Plan to win the war with as little bloodshed as possible, which called for blockading the Confederacy and slowly suffocating the South to surrender. Lincoln adopted parts of the plan, but chose to prosecute a more active vision of war. In April 1861, Lincoln announced the Union blockade of all Southern ports; commercial ships could not get insurance and regular traffic ended. The South blundered in embargoing cotton exports in 1861 before the blockade was effective; by the time they realized the mistake, it was too late. " King Cotton" was dead, as the South could export less than 10 percent of its cotton. The blockade shut down the ten Confederate seaports with railheads that moved almost all the cotton, especially New Orleans, Mobile, and Charleston. By June 1861, warships were stationed off the principal Southern ports, and a year later nearly 300 ships were in service.

Blockade runners

The Confederates began the war short on military supplies and in desperate need of large quantities of arms which the agrarian South could not provide. Arms manufactures in the industrial North were restricted by an arms embargo, keeping shipments of arms from going to the South, and ending all existing and future contracts. The Confederacy subsequently looked to foreign sources for their enormous military needs and sought out financiers and companies like S. Isaac, Campbell & Company and the London Armoury Company in Britain, who acted as purchasing agents for the Confederacy, connecting them with Britain's many arms manufactures, and ultimately becoming the Confederacy's main source of arms.

Economic impact

To fight an offensive war, the Confederacy purchased arms in Britain and converted British-built ships into commerce raiders. Purchasing arms involved the smuggling of 600,000 arms (mostly British Enfield rifles) that enabled the Confederate Army to fight on for two more years and the commerce raiders were used in raiding U.S. Merchant Marine ships in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Insurance rates skyrocketed and the American flag virtually disappeared from international waters. However, the same ships were reflagged with European flags and continued unmolested. After the war ended, the U.S. government demanded that Britain compensate it for the damage done by blockade runners and raiders outfitted in British ports. Britain partly acquiesced to the demand, paying the U.S. $15 million in 1871 only for commerce raiding.

Although the Confederacy hoped that Britain and France would join them against the Union, this was never likely, and so they instead tried to bring the British and French governments in as mediators. The Union, under Lincoln and Secretary of State William H. Seward, worked to block this and threatened war if any country officially recognized the existence of the Confederate States of America. In 1861, Southerners voluntarily embargoed cotton shipments, hoping to start an economic depression in Europe that would force Britain to enter the war to get cotton, but this did not work. Worse, Europe turned to Egypt and India for cotton, which they found superior, hindering the South's recovery after the war.

Lincoln's administration initially failed to appeal to European public opinion. At first, diplomats explained that the United States was not committed to the ending of slavery, and instead repeated legalistic arguments about the unconstitutionality of secession. Confederate representatives, on the other hand, started off much more successful, by ignoring slavery and instead focusing on their struggle for liberty, their commitment to free trade, and the essential role of cotton in the European economy. The European aristocracy was "absolutely gleeful in pronouncing the American debacle as proof that the entire experiment in popular government had failed. European government leaders welcomed the fragmentation of the ascendant American Republic." However, there was still a European public with liberal sensibilities, that the U.S. sought to appeal to by building connections with the international press. As early as 1861, many Union diplomats such as Carl Schurz realized emphasizing the war against slavery was the Union's most effective moral asset in the struggle for public opinion in Europe. Seward was concerned that an overly radical case for reunification would distress the European merchants with cotton interests; even so, Seward supported a widespread campaign of public diplomacy.

U.S. minister to Britain Charles Francis Adams proved particularly adept and convinced Britain not to openly challenge the Union blockade. The Confederacy purchased several warships from commercial shipbuilders in Britain ( CSS Alabama, CSS Shenandoah, CSS Tennessee, CSS Tallahassee, CSS Florida, and some others). The most famous, the CSS Alabama, did considerable damage and led to serious postwar disputes. However, public opinion against slavery in Britain created a political liability for British politicians, where the anti-slavery movement was powerful.

A December 1861 cartoon in Punch magazine in London ridicules American aggressiveness in the Trent Affair. John Bull, at right, warns Uncle Sam, "You do what's right, my son, or I'll blow you out of the water."

War loomed in late 1861 between the U.S. and Britain over the Trent affair, which began when U.S. Navy personnel boarded the British ship Trent and seized two Confederate diplomats. However, London and Washington were able to smooth over the problem after Lincoln released the two men. Prince Albert had left his deathbed to issue diplomatic instructions to Lord Lyons during the Trent affair. His request was honored, and, as a result, the British response to the United States was toned down and helped avert the British becoming involved in the war. In 1862, the British government considered mediating between the Union and Confederacy, though even such an offer would have risked war with the United States. British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston reportedly read Uncle Tom's Cabin three times when deciding on what his decision would be.

The Union victory in the Battle of Antietam caused the British to delay this decision. The Emancipation Proclamation over time would reinforce the political liability of supporting the Confederacy. Realizing that Washington could not intervene in Mexico as long as the Confederacy controlled Texas, France invaded Mexico in 1861. Washington repeatedly protested France's violation of the Monroe Doctrine. Despite sympathy for the Confederacy, France's seizure of Mexico ultimately deterred it from war with the Union. Confederate offers late in the war to end slavery in return for diplomatic recognition were not seriously considered by London or Paris. After 1863, the Polish revolt against Russia further distracted the European powers and ensured that they would remain neutral.

Russia supported the Union, largely because it believed that the U.S. served as a counterbalance to its geopolitical rival, the United Kingdom. In 1863, the Russian Navy's Baltic and Pacific fleets wintered in the American ports of New York and San Francisco, respectively.

Eastern theater

The Eastern theater refers to the military operations east of the Appalachian Mountains, including the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and the coastal fortifications and seaports of North Carolina.

Background

Army of the Potomac

1. McClellan would lead the main thrust in Virginia towards Richmond.

2. Ohio forces would advance through Kentucky into Tennessee.

3. The Missouri Department would drive south along the Mississippi River.

4. The westernmost attack would originate from Kansas.

Army of Northern Virginia

The primary Confederate force in the Eastern theater was the Army of Northern Virginia. The Army originated as the (Confederate) Army of the Potomac, which was organized on June 20, 1861, from all operational forces in Northern Virginia. On July 20 and 21, the Army of the Shenandoah and forces from the District of Harpers Ferry were added. Units from the Army of the Northwest were merged into the Army of the Potomac between March 14 and May 17, 1862. The Army of the Potomac was renamed Army of Northern Virginia on March 14. The Army of the Peninsula was merged into it on April 12, 1862.

When Virginia declared its secession in April 1861, Robert E. Lee chose to follow his home state, despite his desire for the country to remain intact and an offer of a senior Union command.

Lee's biographer, Douglas S. Freeman, asserts that the army received its final name from Lee when he issued orders assuming command on June 1, 1862. However, Freeman does admit that Lee corresponded with Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston, his predecessor in army command, before that date and referred to Johnston's command as the Army of Northern Virginia. Part of the confusion results from the fact that Johnston commanded the Department of Northern Virginia (as of October 22, 1861) and the name Army of Northern Virginia can be seen as an informal consequence of its parent department's name. Jefferson Davis and Johnston did not adopt the name, but it is clear that the organization of units as of March 14 was the same organization that Lee received on June 1, and thus it is generally referred to today as the Army of Northern Virginia, even if that is correct only in retrospect.

On July 4 at Harper's Ferry, Colonel Thomas J. Jackson assigned Jeb Stuart to command all the cavalry companies of the Army of the Shenandoah. He eventually commanded the Army of Northern Virginia's cavalry.

George B. McClellan, a Union Army general and, later, governor of New Jersey

In one of the first highly visible battles, in July 1861, a march by Union troops under the command of Maj. Gen. Irvin McDowell on the Confederate forces led by Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard near Washington was repulsed at the First Battle of Bull Run (also known as First Manassas).

The Union had the upper hand at first, nearly pushing confederate forces holding a defensive position into a rout, but Confederate reinforcements under Joseph E. Johnston arrived from the Shenandoah Valley by railroad, and the course of the battle quickly changed. A brigade of Virginians under the relatively unknown brigadier general from the Virginia Military Institute, Thomas J. Jackson, stood its ground, which resulted in Jackson receiving his famous nickname, "Stonewall".

Upon the strong urging of President Lincoln to begin offensive operations, McClellan attacked Virginia in the spring of 1862 by way of the peninsula between the York River and James River, southeast of Richmond. McClellan's army reached the gates of Richmond in the Peninsula Campaign.

Also in the spring of 1862, in the Shenandoah Valley, Stonewall Jackson led his Valley Campaign. Employing audacity and rapid, unpredictable movements on interior lines, Jackson's 17,000 troops marched 646 miles (1,040 km) in 48 days and won several minor battles as they successfully engaged three Union armies (52,000 men), including those of Nathaniel P. Banks and John C. Fremont, preventing them from reinforcing the Union offensive against Richmond. The swiftness of Jackson's men earned them the nickname of " foot cavalry".

The Northern Virginia Campaign, which included the Second Battle of Bull Run, ended in yet another victory for the South. McClellan resisted General-in-Chief Halleck's orders to send reinforcements to John Pope's Union Army of Virginia, which made it easier for Lee's Confederates to defeat twice the number of combined enemy troops.

Emboldened by Second Bull Run, the Confederacy made its first invasion of the North with the Maryland Campaign. General Lee led 45,000 troops of the Army of Northern Virginia across the Potomac River into Maryland on September 5. Lincoln then restored Pope's troops to McClellan. McClellan and Lee fought at the Battle of Antietam near Sharpsburg, Maryland, on September 17, 1862, the bloodiest single day in United States military history. Lee's army, checked at last, returned to Virginia before McClellan could destroy it. Antietam is considered a Union victory because it halted Lee's invasion of the North and provided an opportunity for Lincoln to announce his Emancipation Proclamation.

When the cautious McClellan failed to follow up on Antietam, he was replaced by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside. Burnside was soon defeated at the Battle of Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862, when more than 12,000 Union soldiers were killed or wounded during repeated futile frontal assaults against Marye's Heights. After the battle, Burnside was replaced by Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker.

Hooker, too, proved unable to defeat Lee's army; despite outnumbering the Confederates by more than two to one, his Chancellorsville Campaign proved ineffective, and he was humiliated in the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863. Chancellorsville is known as Lee's "perfect battle" because his risky decision to divide his army in the presence of a much larger enemy force resulted in a significant Confederate victory. Gen. Stonewall Jackson was shot in the left arm and right hand by accidental friendly fire during the battle. The arm was amputated, but he died shortly thereafter of pneumonia. Lee famously said: "He has lost his left arm, but I have lost my right arm."

Gen. Hooker was replaced by Maj. Gen. George Meade during Lee's second invasion of the North, in June. Meade defeated Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1 to 3, 1863). This was the bloodiest battle of the war and has been called the war's turning point. Pickett's Charge on July 3 is often considered the high-water mark of the Confederacy because it signaled the collapse of serious Confederate threats of victory. Lee's army suffered 28,000 casualties (versus Meade's 23,000).

Western theater

The Western theater refers to military operations between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River, including the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Tennessee, as well as parts of Louisiana.

Background

Army of the Tennessee and Army of the Cumberland

The primary Union forces in the Western theater were the Army of the Tennessee and the Army of the Cumberland, named for the two rivers, the Tennessee River and Cumberland River. After Meade's inconclusive fall campaign, Lincoln turned to the Western Theater for new leadership. At the same time, the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg surrendered, giving the Union control of the Mississippi River, permanently isolating the western Confederacy, and producing the new leader Lincoln needed, Ulysses S. Grant.

The Union's key strategist and tactician in the West was Ulysses S. Grant, who won victories at Forts Henry (February 6, 1862) and Donelson (February 11 to 16, 1862), earning him the nickname of "Unconditional Surrender" Grant, by which the Union seized control of the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. Nathan Bedford Forrest rallied nearly 4,000 Confederate troops and led them to escape across the Cumberland. Nashville and central Tennessee thus fell to the Union, leading to attrition of local food supplies and livestock and a breakdown in social organization.

In April 1862, the Union Navy captured New Orleans. "The key to the river was New Orleans, the South's largest port [and] greatest industrial center." U.S. Naval forces under Farragut ran past Confederate defenses south of New Orleans. Confederate forces abandoned the city, giving the Union a critical anchor in the deep South. which allowed Union forces to begin moving up the Mississippi. Memphis fell to Union forces on June 6, 1862, and became a key base for further advances south along the Mississippi River. Only the fortress city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, prevented Union control of the entire river.

Bragg's second invasion of Kentucky in the Confederate Heartland Offensive included initial successes such as Kirby Smith's triumph at the Battle of Richmond and the capture of the Kentucky capital of Frankfort on September 3, 1862. However, the campaign ended with a meaningless victory over Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell at the Battle of Perryville. Bragg was forced to end his attempt at invading Kentucky and retreat due to lack of logistical support and lack of infantry recruits for the Confederacy in that state.

The one clear Confederate victory in the West was the Battle of Chickamauga. After Rosecrans' successful Tullahoma Campaign, Bragg, reinforced by Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's corps (from Lee's army in the east), defeated Rosecrans, despite the heroic defensive stand of Maj. Gen. George Henry Thomas.

Rosecrans retreated to Chattanooga, which Bragg then besieged in the Chattanooga Campaign. Grant marched to the relief of Rosecrans and defeated Bragg at the Third Battle of Chattanooga, eventually causing Longstreet to abandon his Knoxville Campaign and driving Confederate forces out of Tennessee and opening a route to Atlanta and the heart of the Confederacy.

Trans-Mississippi theater

Background

Nathaniel Lyon secured St. Louis docks and arsenal, led Union forces to expel Missouri Confederate forces and government.

The first battle of the Trans-Mississippi theater was the Battle of Wilson's Creek (August 1861). The Confederates were driven from Missouri early in the war as a result of the Battle of Pea Ridge.

Extensive guerrilla warfare characterized the trans-Mississippi region, as the Confederacy lacked the troops and the logistics to support regular armies that could challenge Union control. Roving Confederate bands such as Quantrill's Raiders terrorized the countryside, striking both military installations and civilian settlements. The "Sons of Liberty" and "Order of the American Knights" attacked pro-Union people, elected officeholders, and unarmed uniformed soldiers. These partisans could not be entirely driven out of the state of Missouri until an entire regular Union infantry division was engaged. By 1864, these violent activities harmed the nationwide anti-war movement organizing against the re-election of Lincoln. Missouri not only stayed in the Union but Lincoln took 70 percent of the vote for re-election.

Numerous small-scale military actions south and west of Missouri sought to control Indian Territory and New Mexico Territory for the Union. The Battle of Glorieta Pass was the decisive battle of the New Mexico Campaign. The Union repulsed Confederate incursions into New Mexico in 1862, and the exiled Arizona government withdrew into Texas. In the Indian Territory, civil war broke out within tribes. About 12,000 Indian warriors fought for the Confederacy and smaller numbers for the Union. The most prominent Cherokee was Brigadier General Stand Watie, the last Confederate general to surrender.

Lower Seaboard theater

Background

The Lower Seaboard theater refers to military and naval operations that occurred near the coastal areas of the Southeast (Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas) as well as the southern part of the Mississippi River (Port Hudson and south). Union Naval activities were dictated by the Anaconda Plan.

Several small skirmishes were fought in Florida, but no major battles. The biggest was the Battle of Olustee in early 1864.

Pacific Coast theater

The Pacific Coast theater refers to military operations on the Pacific Ocean and in the states and Territories west of the Continental Divide.

Conquest of Virginia

At the beginning of 1864, Lincoln made Grant commander of all Union armies. Grant made his headquarters with the Army of the Potomac and put Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman in command of most of the western armies. Grant understood the concept of total war and believed, along with Lincoln and Sherman, that only the utter defeat of Confederate forces and their economic base would end the war. This was total war not in killing civilians but rather in taking provisions and forage and destroying homes, farms, and railroads, that Grant said "would otherwise have gone to the support of secession and rebellion. This policy I believe exercised a material influence in hastening the end." Grant devised a coordinated strategy that would strike at the entire Confederacy from multiple directions. Generals George Meade and Benjamin Butler were ordered to move against Lee near Richmond, General Franz Sigel (and later Philip Sheridan) were to attack the Shenandoah Valley, General Sherman was to capture Atlanta and march to the sea (the Atlantic Ocean), Generals George Crook and William W. Averell were to operate against railroad supply lines in West Virginia, and Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks was to capture Mobile, Alabama.

Grant's Overland Campaign

These dead soldiers-from Ewell's May 1864 attack at Spotsylvania-delayed Grant's advance on Richmond in the Overland Campaign.

Grant's army set out on the Overland Campaign intending to draw Lee into a defense of Richmond, where they would attempt to pin down and destroy the Confederate army. The Union army first attempted to maneuver past Lee and fought several battles, notably at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor. These battles resulted in heavy losses on both sides and forced Lee's Confederates to fall back repeatedly. At the Battle of Yellow Tavern, the Confederates lost Jeb Stuart.

Sheridan's Valley Campaign

Grant finally found a commander, General Philip Sheridan, aggressive enough to prevail in the Valley Campaigns of 1864. Sheridan was initially repelled at the Battle of New Market by former U.S. vice president and Confederate Gen. John C. Breckinridge. The Battle of New Market was the Confederacy's last major victory of the war and included a charge by teenage VMI cadets. After redoubling his efforts, Sheridan defeated Maj. Gen. Jubal A. Early in a series of battles, including a final decisive defeat at the Battle of Cedar Creek. Sheridan then proceeded to destroy the agricultural base of the Shenandoah Valley, a strategy similar to the tactics Sherman later employed in Georgia.

Sherman's March to the Sea

The Peacemakers by George Peter Alexander Healy portrays Sherman, Grant, Lincoln, and Porter discussing plans for the last weeks of the Civil War aboard the steamer River Queen in March 1865. (Clickable image-use cursor to identify.)

Meanwhile, Sherman maneuvered from Chattanooga to Atlanta, defeating Confederate Generals Joseph E. Johnston and John Bell Hood along the way. The fall of Atlanta on September 2, 1864, guaranteed the reelection of Lincoln as president. Hood left the Atlanta area to swing around and menace Sherman's supply lines and invade Tennessee in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign. Union Maj. Gen. John Schofield defeated Hood at the Battle of Franklin, and George H. Thomas dealt Hood a massive defeat at the Battle of Nashville, effectively destroying Hood's army.

Leaving Atlanta, and his base of supplies, Sherman's army marched, with no destination set, laying waste to about 20 percent of the farms in Georgia in his " March to the Sea". He reached the Atlantic Ocean at Savannah, Georgia, in December 1864. Sherman's army was followed by thousands of freed slaves; there were no major battles along the march. Sherman turned north through South Carolina and North Carolina to approach the Confederate Virginia lines from the south, increasing the pressure on Lee's army.

The Waterloo of the Confederacy

End of the war

Initially, Lee did not intend to surrender but planned to regroup at Appomattox Station, where supplies were to be waiting and then continue the war. Grant chased Lee and got in front of him so that when Lee's army reached the village of Appomattox Court House, they were surrounded. After an initial battle, Lee decided that the fight was now hopeless, and surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to Grant on April 9, 1865, during a conference at the McLean House In an untraditional gesture and as a sign of Grant's respect and anticipation of peacefully restoring Confederate states to the Union, Lee was permitted to keep his sword and his horse, Traveller. His men were paroled, and a chain of Confederate surrenders began.

On April 14, 1865, President Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer. Lincoln died early the next morning. Lincoln's vice president, Andrew Johnson, was unharmed, because his would-be assassin, George Atzerodt, lost his nerve, so Johnson was immediately sworn in as president. Meanwhile, Confederate forces across the South surrendered as news of Lee's surrender reached them. On April 26, 1865, the same day Sergeant Boston Corbett killed Booth at a tobacco barn, General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered nearly 90,000 troops of the Army of Tennessee to Major General William Tecumseh Sherman at Bennett Place near present-day Durham, North Carolina. It proved to be the largest surrender of Confederate forces. On May 4, all remaining Confederate forces in Alabama, Louisiana east of the Mississippi River, and Mississippi under Lieutenant General Richard Taylor surrendered.

The Confederate president, Jefferson Davis, was captured at Irwinville, Georgia on May 10, 1865.

On May 13, 1865, the last land battle of the war was fought at the Battle of Palmito Ranch in Texas.

On May 26, 1865, Confederate Lt. Gen. Simon B. Buckner, acting for General Edmund Kirby Smith, signed a military convention surrendering the Confederate trans-Mississippi Department forces. This date is often cited by contemporaries and historians as the end date of the American Civil War. On June 2, 1865, with most of his troops having already gone home, technically deserted, a reluctant Kirby Smith had little choice but to sign the official surrender document. On June 23, 1865, Cherokee leader and Confederate Brig. Gen. Stand Watie became the last Confederate general to surrender his forces.

On June 19, 1865, Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger announced General Order No. 3, bringing the Emancipation Proclamation into effect in Texas and freeing the last slaves of the Confederacy. The anniversary of this date is now celebrated as Juneteenth.

The naval portion of the war ended more slowly. It had begun on April 11, 1865, two days after Lee's surrender, when President Lincoln proclaimed that foreign nations had no further "claim or pretense" to deny equality of maritime rights and hospitalities to U.S. warships and, in effect, that rights extended to Confederate ships to use neutral ports as safe havens from U.S. warships should end. Having no response to Lincoln's proclamation, President Andrew Johnson issued a similar proclamation dated May 10, 1865, more directly stating the premise that the war was almost at an end ("armed resistance...may be regarded as virtually at an end") and that insurgent cruisers still at sea and prepared to attack U.S. ships should not have rights to do so through use of safe foreign ports or waters and warned nations which continued to do so that their government vessels would be denied access to U.S. ports. He also "enjoined" U.S. officers to arrest the cruisers and their crews so "that they may be prevented from committing further depredations on commerce and that the persons on board of them may no longer enjoy impunity for their crimes". Britain finally responded on June 6, 1865, by transmitting a June 2, 1865 letter from Foreign Secretary John Russell, 1st Earl Russell to the Lords of the Admiralty withdrawing rights to Confederate warships to enter British ports and waters but with exceptions for a limited time to allow a captain to enter a port to "divest his vessel of her warlike character" and for U.S. ships to be detained in British ports or waters to allow Confederate cruisers twenty-four hours to leave first. U.S. Secretary of State William Seward welcomed the withdrawal of concessions to the Confederates but objected to the exceptions. Finally, on October 18, 1865, Russell advised the Admiralty that the time specified in his June 2, 1865 message had elapsed and "all measures of a restrictive nature on vessels of war of the United States in British ports, harbors, and waters, are now to be considered as at an end". Nonetheless, the final Confederate surrender was in Liverpool, England where James Iredell Waddell, the captain of the CSS Shenandoah, surrendered the cruiser to British authorities on November 6, 1865.

Legally, the war did not end until August 20, 1866, when President Andrew Johnson issued a proclamation that declared "that the said insurrection is at an end and that peace, order, tranquillity, and civil authority now exist in and throughout the whole of the United States of America".

Union victory and aftermath

Map of Confederate territory losses year by year

The causes of the war, the reasons for its outcome, and even the name of the war itself are subjects of lingering contention today. The North and West grew rich while the once-rich South became poor for a century. The national political power of the slaveowners and rich Southerners ended. Historians are less sure about the results of the postwar Reconstruction, especially regarding the second-class citizenship of the freedmen and their poverty.

Confederates did not need to invade and hold enemy territory to win but only needed to fight a defensive war to convince the North that the cost of winning was too high. The North needed to conquer and hold vast stretches of enemy territory and defeat Confederate armies to win. Lincoln was not a military dictator and could continue to fight the war only as long as the American public supported a continuation of the war. The Confederacy sought to win independence by outlasting Lincoln; however, after Atlanta fell and Lincoln defeated McClellan in the election of 1864, all hope for a political victory for the South ended. At that point, Lincoln had secured the support of the Republicans, War Democrats, the border states, emancipated slaves, and the neutrality of Britain and France. By defeating the Democrats and McClellan, he also defeated the Copperheads, who had wanted a negotiated peace with the Confederate States of America.

Some scholars argue that the Union held an insurmountable long-term advantage over the Confederacy in industrial strength and population. Confederate actions, they argue, only delayed defeat. Civil War historian Shelby Foote expressed this view succinctly:

I think that the North fought that war with one hand behind its back .... If there had been more Southern victories, and a lot more, the North simply would have brought that other hand out from behind its back. I don't think the South ever had a chance to win that War.

A minority view among historians is that the Confederacy lost because, as E. Merton Coulter put it, "people did not will hard enough and long enough to win." However, most historians reject the argument. McPherson, after reading thousands of letters written by Confederate soldiers, found strong patriotism that continued to the end; they truly believed they were fighting for freedom and liberty. Even as the Confederacy was visibly collapsing in 1864-65, he says most Confederate soldiers were fighting hard. Historian Gary Gallagher cites General Sherman, who in early 1864 commented, "The devils seem to have a determination that cannot but be admired." Despite their loss of slaves and wealth, with starvation looming, Sherman continued, "yet I see no sign of let-up-some few deserters-plenty tired of war, but the masses determined to fight it out."

Also important were Lincoln's eloquence in rationalizing the national purpose and his skill in keeping the border states committed to the Union cause. The Emancipation Proclamation was an effective use of the President's war powers. The Confederate government failed in its attempt to get Europe involved in the war militarily, particularly Great Britain and France. Southern leaders needed to get European powers to help break up the blockade the Union had created around the Southern ports and cities. Lincoln's naval blockade was 95% effective at stopping trade goods; as a result, imports and exports to the South declined significantly. The abundance of European cotton and Britain's hostility to the institution of slavery, along with Lincoln's Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico naval blockades, severely decreased any chance that either Britain or France would enter the war.

Historian Don Doyle has argued that the Union victory had a major impact on the course of world history. The Union victory energized popular democratic forces. A Confederate victory, on the other hand, would have meant a new birth of slavery, not freedom. Historian Fergus Bordewich, following Doyle, argues that:

The North's victory decisively proved the durability of democratic government. Confederate independence, on the other hand, would have established an American model for reactionary politics and race-based repression that would likely have cast an international shadow into the twentieth century and perhaps beyond."

Scholars have debated what the effects of the war were on political and economic power in the South. The prevailing view is that the southern planter elite retained its powerful position in the South. However, a 2017 study challenges this, noting that while some Southern elites retained their economic status, the turmoil of the 1860s created greater opportunities for economic mobility in the South than in the North.

Casualties

The war resulted in at least 1,030,000 casualties (3 percent of the population), including about 620,000 soldier deaths-two-thirds by disease-and 50,000 civilians. Binghamton University historian J. David Hacker believes the number of soldier deaths was approximately 750,000, 20 percent higher than traditionally estimated, and possibly as high as 850,000. A novel way of calculating casualties by looking at the deviation of the death rate of men of fighting age from the norm through analysis of census data found that at least 627,000 and at most 888,000 people, but most likely 761,000 people, died in the war. As historian McPherson notes, the war's "cost in American lives was as great as in all of the nation's other wars combined through Vietnam."

Based on 1860 census figures, 8 percent of all white men aged 13 to 43 died in the war, including 6 percent in the North and 18 percent in the South. About 56,000 soldiers died in prison camps during the War. An estimated 60,000 soldiers lost limbs in the war.

Of the 359,528 Union Army dead, amounting to 15 percent of the over two million who served:

110,070 were killed in action (67,000) or died of wounds (43,000).

199,790 died of disease (75 percent was due to the war, the remainder would have occurred in civilian life anyway)

24,866 died in Confederate prison camps

9,058 were killed by accidents or drowning

15,741 other/unknown deaths

In addition, there were 4,523 deaths in the Navy (2,112 in battle) and 460 in the Marines (148 in battle).

After the Emancipation Proclamation authorized freed slaves to "be received into the armed service of the United States", former slaves who escaped from plantations or were liberated by the Union Army were recruited into the United States Colored Troops regiments of the Union Army, as were black men who had not been slaves. The U.S. Colored Troops made up 10 percent of the Union death toll-15 percent of Union deaths from disease and less than 3 percent of those killed in battle. Losses among African Americans were high. In the last year and a half and from all reported casualties, approximately 20 percent of all African Americans enrolled in the military died during the Civil War. Notably, their mortality rate was significantly higher than that of white soldiers. While 15.2% of United States Volunteers and just 8.6% of white Regular Army troops died, 20.5% of United States Colored Troops died.

The United States National Park Service uses the following figures in its official tally of war losses:

Union: 853,838

110,100 killed in action

224,580 disease deaths

275,154 wounded in action

211,411 captured (including 30,192 who died as POWs)

Confederate: 914,660

94,000 killed in action

164,000 disease deaths

194,026 wounded in action

462,634 captured (including 31,000 who died as POWs)

Analyzing the number of dead by using census data to calculate the deviation of the death rate of men of fighting age from the norm suggests that at least 627,000 and at most 888,000, but most likely 761,000 soldiers, died in the war. This would break down to approximately 350,000 Confederate and 411,000 Union military deaths, going by the proportion of Union to Confederate battle losses.

Deaths among former slaves has proven much harder to estimate, due to the lack of reliable census data at the time, though they were known to be considerable, as former slaves were set free or escaped in massive numbers in an area where the Union army did not have sufficient shelter, doctors, or food for them. University of Connecticut Professor Jim Downs states that tens to hundreds of thousands of slaves died during the war from disease, starvation, or exposure and that if these deaths are counted in the war's total, the death toll would exceed 1 million.

Losses were far higher than during the recent defeat of Mexico, which saw roughly thirteen thousand American deaths, including fewer than two thousand killed in battle, between 1846 and 1848. One reason for the high number of battle deaths during the war was the continued use of tactics similar to those of the Napoleonic Wars at the turn of the century, such as charging. With the advent of more accurate rifled barrels, Minié balls, and (near the end of the war for the Union army) repeating firearms such as the Spencer Repeating Rifle and the Henry Repeating Rifle, soldiers were mowed down when standing in lines in the open. This led to the adoption of trench warfare, a style of fighting that defined much of World War I.

Emancipation

Abolition of slavery in the various states of the United States over time:

Abolition of slavery during or shortly after the American Revolution

The Northwest Ordinance, 1787

Gradual emancipation in New York (starting 1799, completed 1827) and New Jersey (starting 1804, completed by Thirteenth Amendment, 1865)

The Missouri Compromise, 1821

Effective abolition of slavery by Mexican or joint US/British authority

Abolition of slavery by Congressional action, 1861

Abolition of slavery by Congressional action, 1862

Emancipation Proclamation as originally issued, January 1, 1863

Subsequent operation of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863

Abolition of slavery by state action during the Civil War

Operation of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1864

Operation of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865

Thirteenth Amendment to the US constitution, December 18, 1865

Territory incorporated into the US after the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment

Abolishing slavery was not a Union war goal from the outset, but it quickly became one. Lincoln's initial claims were that preserving the Union was the central goal of the war. In contrast, the South saw itself as fighting to preserve slavery. While not all Southerners saw themselves as fighting for slavery, most of the officers and over a third of the rank and file in Lee's army had close family ties to slavery. To Northerners, in contrast, the motivation was primarily to preserve the Union, not to abolish slavery. However, as the war dragged on, and it became clear that slavery was central to the conflict, and that emancipation was (to quote from the Emancipation Proclamation) "a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing [the] rebellion," Lincoln and his cabinet made ending slavery a war goal, culminating in the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln's decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation angered both Peace Democrats ("Copperheads") and War Democrats, but energized most Republicans. By warning that free blacks would flood the North, Democrats made gains in the 1862 elections, but they did not gain control of Congress. The Republicans' counterargument that slavery was the mainstay of the enemy steadily gained support, with the Democrats losing decisively in the 1863 elections in the Northern state of Ohio when they tried to resurrect anti-black sentiment.

Emancipation Proclamation

Slavery for the Confederacy's 3.5 million blacks effectively ended in each area when Union armies arrived; they were nearly all freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. The last Confederate slaves were freed on June 19, 1865, celebrated as the modern holiday of Juneteenth. Slaves in the border states and those located in some former Confederate territory occupied before the Emancipation Proclamation were freed by state action or (on December 6, 1865) by the Thirteenth Amendment. The Emancipation Proclamation enabled African Americans, both free blacks and escaped slaves, to join the Union Army. About 190,000 volunteered, further enhancing the numerical advantage the Union armies enjoyed over the Confederates, who did not dare emulate the equivalent manpower source for fear of fundamentally undermining the legitimacy of slavery.

During the Civil War, sentiment concerning slaves, enslavement, and emancipation in the United States was divided. Lincoln's fears of making slavery a war issue were based on a harsh reality: abolition did not enjoy wide support in the west, the territories, and the border states. In 1861, Lincoln worried that premature attempts at emancipation would mean the loss of the border states, and that "to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose the whole game." Copperheads and some War Democrats opposed emancipation, although the latter eventually accepted it as part of the total war needed to save the Union.

At first, Lincoln reversed attempts at emancipation by Secretary of War Simon Cameron and Generals John C. Frémont (in Missouri) and David Hunter (in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida) to keep the loyalty of the border states and the War Democrats. Lincoln warned the border states that a more radical type of emancipation would happen if his plan of gradual compensated emancipation and voluntary colonization was rejected. But compensated emancipation occurred only in the District of Columbia, where Congress had the power to enact it. When Lincoln told his cabinet about his proposed emancipation proclamation, which would apply to the states still in rebellion on January 1, 1863, Seward advised Lincoln to wait for a Union military victory before issuing it, as to do otherwise would seem like "our last shriek on the retreat". Walter Stahr, however, writes, "There are contemporary sources, however, that suggest others were involved in the decision to delay", and Stahr quotes them.

Lincoln laid the groundwork for public support in an open letter published in response to Horace Greeley's "The Prayer of Twenty Millions". He also laid the groundwork at a meeting at the White House with five African American representatives on August 14, 1862. Arranging for a reporter to be present, he urged his visitors to agree to the voluntary colonization of black people, apparently to make his forthcoming preliminary Emancipation Proclamation more palatable to racist white people. A Union victory in the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, provided Lincoln with an opportunity to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, and the subsequent War Governors' Conference added support for the proclamation.

Lincoln's moderate approach succeeded in inducing the border states to remain in the Union and War Democrats to support the Union. The border states, which included Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland, Delaware, and Union-controlled regions around New Orleans, Norfolk, Virginia, and elsewhere, were not covered by the Emancipation Proclamation. Nor was Tennessee, which had come under Union control. Missouri and Maryland abolished slavery on their own; Kentucky and Delaware did not. Still, the proclamation did not enjoy universal support. It caused much unrest in what were then considered western states, where racist sentiments led to a great fear of abolition. There was some concern that the proclamation would lead to the secession of western states, and its issuance prompted the stationing of Union troops in Illinois in case of rebellion.

Since the Emancipation Proclamation was based on the President's war powers, it applied only in territory held by Confederates at the time it was issued. However, the Proclamation became a symbol of the Union's growing commitment to add emancipation to the Union's definition of liberty. The Emancipation Proclamation greatly reduced the Confederacy's hope of being recognized or otherwise aided by Britain or France. By late 1864, Lincoln was playing a leading role in getting the House of Representatives to vote for the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which mandated the ending of chattel slavery.

Reconstruction

The oath to defend the Constitution of the United States and, among other commitments, to "abide by and faithfully support all acts of Congress passed during the ... rebellion having reference to slaves ... ", signed by former Confederate officer Samuel M. Kennard on June 27, 1865[363]

The war devastated the South and posed serious questions of how the South would be reintegrated into the Union. The war destroyed much of the wealth that had existed in the South. All accumulated investment in Confederate bonds was forfeited; most banks and railroads were bankrupt. The income per capita in the South dropped to less than 40 percent of that of the North, an economic condition that lasted into the 20th century. Southern influence in the federal government, previously considerable, was greatly diminished until the latter half of the 20th century. Reconstruction began during the war, with the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, and it continued until 1877. It comprised multiple complex methods to resolve the outstanding issues of the war's aftermath, the most important of which were the three " Reconstruction Amendments" to the Constitution: the 13th outlawing slavery (1865), the 14th guaranteeing citizenship to slaves (1868), and the 15th ensuring voting rights to slaves (1870). From the Union perspective, the goals of Reconstruction were to consolidate the Union victory on the battlefield by reuniting the Union, to guarantee a " republican form of government" for the ex-Confederate states, and to permanently end slavery-and prevent semi-slavery status.

President Andrew Johnson, who took office on April 15, 1865, took a lenient approach and saw the achievement of the main war goals as realized in 1865 when each ex-rebel state repudiated secession and ratified the Thirteenth Amendment. Radical Republicans demanded proof that Confederate nationalism was dead and that the slaves were truly free. They overrode Johnson's vetoes of civil rights legislation, and the House impeached him, although the Senate did not convict him. In 1868 and 1872, the Republican candidate Ulysses S. Grant won the presidency. In 1872, the "Liberal Republicans" argued that the war goals had been achieved and that Reconstruction should end. They chose Horace Greeley to head a presidential ticket in 1872 but were decisively defeated. In 1874, Democrats, primarily Southern, took control of Congress and opposed further reconstruction. The Compromise of 1877 closed with a national consensus, except perhaps on the part of former slaves, that the Civil War had finally ended. With the withdrawal of federal troops, however, whites retook control of every Southern legislature, and the Jim Crow era of disenfranchisement and legal segregation was ushered in.

Memory and historiography

The Civil War is one of the central events in American collective memory. There are innumerable statues, commemorations, books, and archival collections. The memory includes the home front, military affairs, the treatment of soldiers, both living and dead, in the war's aftermath, depictions of the war in literature and art, evaluations of heroes and villains, and considerations of the moral and political lessons of the war. The last theme includes moral evaluations of racism and slavery, heroism in combat and heroism behind the lines, and issues of democracy and minority rights, as well as the notion of an " Empire of Liberty" influencing the world.

Professional historians have paid much more attention to the causes of the war than to the war itself. Military history has largely developed outside academia, leading to a proliferation of studies by non-scholars who nevertheless are familiar with the primary sources and pay close attention to battles and campaigns and who write for the general public. Bruce Catton and Shelby Foote are among the best known. Practically every major figure in the war, both North and South, has had a serious biographical study.

The memory of the war in the white South crystallized in the myth of the "Lost Cause": that the Confederate cause was just and heroic. The myth shaped regional identity and race relations for generations. Alan T. Nolan notes that the Lost Cause was expressly a rationalization, a cover-up to vindicate the name and fame of those in rebellion. Some claims revolve around the insignificance of slavery as a cause of the war; some appeals highlight cultural differences between North and South; the military conflict by Confederate actors is idealized; in any case, secession was said to be lawful. Nolan argues that the adoption of the Lost Cause perspective facilitated the reunification of the North and the South while excusing the "virulent racism" of the 19th century, sacrificing black American progress to white man's reunification. He also deems the Lost Cause "a caricature of the truth. This caricature wholly misrepresents and distorts the facts of the matter" in every instance. The Lost Cause myth was formalized by Charles A. Beard and Mary R. Beard, whose The Rise of American Civilization (1927) spawned "Beardian historiography". The Beards downplayed slavery, abolitionism, and issues of morality. Though this interpretation was abandoned by the Beards in the 1940s, and by historians generally by the 1950s, Beardian themes still echo among Lost Cause writers.

Battlefield preservation

The first efforts at Civil War battlefield preservation and memorialization came during the war itself with the establishment of National Cemeteries at Gettysburg, Mill Springs and Chattanooga. Soldiers began erecting markers on battlefields beginning with the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861. The oldest surviving monument is the Hazen Brigade Monument near Murfreesboro in Central Tennessee, built in the summer of 1863 by soldiers in Union Col. William B. Hazen's brigade to mark the spot where they buried their dead following the Battle of Stones River.

In the 1890s, the U.S. government established five Civil War battlefield parks under the jurisdiction of the War Department, beginning with the creation of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, and the Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg, Maryland in 1890. The Shiloh National Military Park was established in 1894 in Shiloh, Tennessee, followed by the Gettysburg National Military Park in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in 1895, and Vicksburg National Military Park in Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1899.

In 1933, these five parks and other national monuments were transferred to the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. Chief among modern efforts to preserve Civil War sites has been the American Battlefield Trust, with more than 130 battlefields in 24 states. The five major Civil War battlefield parks operated by the National Park Service (Gettysburg, Antietam, Shiloh, Chickamauga/Chattanooga and Vicksburg) had a combined 3.1 million visitors in 2018, down 70% from 10.2 million in 1970.

Civil War commemoration

The American Civil War has been commemorated in many capacities, ranging from the reenactment of battles to statues and memorial halls erected, to films being produced, to stamps and coins with Civil War themes being issued, all of which helped to shape public memory. These commemorations occurred in greater numbers on the 100th and 150th anniversaries of the war. Hollywood's take on the war has been especially influential in shaping public memory, as in such film classics as The Birth of a Nation (1915), Gone with the Wind (1939), and (2012). Ken Burns's PBS television series The Civil War (1990) is especially well-remembered, though criticized for its historical inaccuracy.

Technological significance

Numerous technological innovations during the Civil War had a great impact on 19th-century science. The Civil War was one of the earliest examples of an " industrial war", in which technological might is used to achieve military supremacy in a war. New inventions, such as the train and telegraph, delivered soldiers, supplies and messages at a time when horses were considered to be the fastest way to travel. It was also in this war that aerial warfare, in the form of reconnaissance balloons, was first used. It saw the first action involving steam-powered ironclad warships in naval warfare history. Repeating firearms such as the Henry rifle, Spencer rifle, Colt revolving rifle, Triplett & Scott carbine and others, first appeared during the Civil War; they were a revolutionary invention that would soon replace muzzle-loading and single-shot firearms in warfare. The war also saw the first appearances of rapid-firing weapons and machine guns such as the Agar gun and the Gatling gun.

In works of culture and art

The Civil War is one of the most studied events in American history, and the collection of cultural works around it is enormous. This section gives an abbreviated overview of the most notable works.

Literature

Video games

References

Bibliography

Beringer, Richard E., Archer Jones, and Herman Hattaway (1986). Why the South Lost the Civil War, influential analysis of factors; an abridged version is The Elements of Confederate Defeat: Nationalism, War Aims, and Religion (1988)

Bestor, Arthur (1964). "The American Civil War as a Constitutional Crisis". American Historical Review. 69 (2): 327-52. doi:10.2307/1844986. JSTOR 1844986.

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American Civil War Clockwise from top: Belligerents United States Confederate States Commanders and leaders Abraham Lincoln X Ulysses S. Grant and others... Jefferson Davis Robert E. Lee and others...

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Earth almost died

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In some ways, the planet's worst mass extinction - 250 million years ago, at the end of the Permian Period - may parallel climate change today.

Fossilized crinoids, marine invertebrates that lived during the Permian Period, found in western Australia. Scientists say the Great Dying, which wiped out 96 percent of all life in the oceans, was caused by global warming, which deprived the oceans of oxygen. Credit... John Cancalosi, via Getty Images

Some 252 million years ago, Earth almost died.

In the oceans, 96 percent of all species became extinct. It's harder to determine how many terrestrial species vanished, but the loss was comparable.

This mass extinction, at the end of the Permian Period, was the worst in the planet's history, and it happened over a few thousand years at most - the blink of a geological eye.

On Thursday, a team of scientists offered a detailed accounting of how marine life was wiped out during the Permian-Triassic mass extinction. Global warming robbed the oceans of oxygen, they say, putting many species under so much stress that they died off.

And we may be repeating the process, the scientists warn. If so, then climate change is "solidly in the category of a catastrophic extinction event," said Curtis Deutsch, an earth scientist at the University of Washington and co-author of the new study, published in the journal Science.

Researchers have long known the general outlines of Permian-Triassic cataclysm. Just before the extinctions, volcanoes in what is now Siberia erupted on a tremendous scale. The magma and lava that they belched forth produced huge amounts of carbon dioxide.

Once in the atmosphere, the gas trapped heat. Researchers estimate that the surface of the ocean warmed by about 18 degrees Fahrenheit. Some researchers argue that the heat alone killed off many species.

Others believe that the warmth reduced oxygen in the ocean, asphyxiating the species living there. Rocks from the mass extinction appear to have formed when at least some of the ocean was lacking oxygen.

In previous research, Dr. Deutsch has explored how living animals adapt to temperature and oxygen levels in the seas. Animals with a fast metabolism need a lot of oxygen, for example, and so they can't live in parts of the ocean where oxygen falls below a certain threshold.

Warm water makes the challenge even more difficult. Warmer water can't hold as much dissolved oxygen as cold water. Even worse, warm water can also increase an animal's metabolism, meaning it requires more oxygen just to stay alive.

Cod, for example, are not found below a latitude running roughly from New England to Spain. South of that line, warmth and low oxygen are just too great for the species.

Dr. Deutsch and Justin Penn, a graduate student, recreated the world at the end of the Permian Period with a large-scale computer simulation, complete with a heat-trapping atmosphere and a circulating ocean.

As the Siberian volcanoes flooded the virtual atmosphere with carbon dioxide, the atmosphere warmed. The ocean warmed, too - and according to the model, it began losing oxygen.

Some parts lost more than others. On the surface, for example, fresh oxygen was produced by photosynthetic algae. But as the ocean warmed, its circulatory currents also slowed, the model demonstrated.

Oxygen-poor water settled to the bottom of the oceans, and before long, the deep was gasping.

Rising temperatures and plunging oxygen must have made huge swaths of the oceans uninhabitable. Some species survived here and there. But most disappeared completely.

"Everything was losing a lot of habitat, creating the risk of extinction," said Dr. Deutsch. "But the risk was actually higher in places that were cold. That was a bit surprising."

You might expect that animals near the Equator would be at a greater risk, because the water was warm to begin with. But Dr. Deutsch's model suggested a very different kind of apocalypse.

Animals in oxygen-rich cold water could not handle the sudden drop, while those in tropical waters were already adapted to poor oxygen. And the cold-water species could not find refuge elsewhere.

To test their simulation, the researchers teamed up with Jonathan Payne and Erik Sperling, paleontologists at Stanford University. They dug into a huge online database of fossils to chart the risks of extinction at different latitudes during the catastrophe.

When they were done with their analysis, they sent their graph to Seattle. Dr. Deutsch and Mr. Penn compared it to the prediction from their computer model.

They matched. "This was the most exciting moment of my scientific life," said Dr. Deutsch.

Michael Benton, a paleontologist at the University of Bristol in England, who was not involved in the study, said that it resolved the roles of heat and oxygen as causes of the mass extinction. "This makes a clear case that, of course, the two are linked," he said.
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The new study offers an important warning to humans over the next few centuries.

The Siberian volcanoes ultimately delivered much more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than we will ever emit by burning fossil fuels. But our annual rate of carbon emissions is actually higher.

The carbon we released over the past two centuries already has made the atmosphere warmer, and the ocean has absorbed much of that heat. And now, just as during the Permian-Triassic extinction, the ocean is losing oxygen. Over the past fifty years, oxygen levels have declined by 2 percent.

"The way the Earth system is responding now to the buildup of CO2 is in the exact same way that we've seen it respond in the past," said Lee Kump, a geoscientist at Penn State University.

Just how much warmer the planet will get is up to us. It will take a tremendous international effort to keep the increase below about 4 degrees Fahrenheit.

If we proceed to use up all the fossil fuels on Earth, it could warm by as much as 17 degrees Fahrenheit by 2300.

As the ocean warms, its oxygen levels will continue to drop. If ancient history is any guide, the consequences for life - especially marine life in the cooler parts of the ocean - will be disastrous.

"Left unchecked, climate warming is putting our future on the same scale as some of the worst events in geological history," Dr. Deutsch said.

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The Planet Has Seen Sudden Warming Before. It Wiped Out Almost Everything. (Published 2018)

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In some ways, the planet's worst mass extinction - 250 million years ago, at the end of the Permian Period - may parallel climate change today. Some 252 million years ago, Earth almost died. In the oceans, 96 percent of all species became extinct.

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Hurricanes are scary wish this wont happen in real life to us guys.

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forest fires in new Zealand

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By Jeremiah

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The eruption that devastated Tonga on 15 January lasted just 11 hours, but it will take years for scientists to work out exactly what happened during the cataclysmic explosion - and what it means for future volcanic risks.

The volcano, named Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai, sent a plume of ash soaring into the upper atmosphere and triggered a tsunami that destroyed homes on Tonga's nearby islands. Reverberations from the eruption circled the globe multiple times.

The extraordinary power of the blast, captured by a range of sophisticated Earth-observing satellites, is challenging ideas about the physics of eruptions. Researchers are finding it hard to explain why the volcano sent a cloud to such heights, yet emitted less ash than would be expected for an eruption of such magnitude. And the shock waves that rippled through the atmosphere and oceans are unlike anything seen in the modern scientific era.

The eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai is forcing scientists to rethink their ideas on the hazards posed by the many submarine volcanoes that lurk beneath the waves of the Pacific Ocean.

"It just basically rips the Band-Aid on our lack of understanding of what's happening under water," says Nico Fournier, a volcanologist at GNS Science in Taupo, New Zealand.

Fresh danger

The eruption, which happened just 65 kilometres from the Tongan capital of Nuku'alofa, has been a disaster for the more than 100,000 people living in Tonga. They are working to clear away the thick layer of ash that blanketed everything, to establish clean drinking-water supplies and to recover from the crop damage, estimated to equate to nearly 39 million Tongan pa'anga (US$17 million). At least three people have died in Tonga as a result of the eruption. The crisis is being compounded by COVID-19, with Tongans facing their first wave of cases, which started after relief ships arrived from other countries.

But earthquakes continue to shake the region, and the volcanic danger might not be over. Preliminary studies of ash from the 15 January eruption suggest that it was fed by a fresh batch of magma rising from inside Earth. Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai could remain active for some time, with uncertain effects on the people of Tonga.

Geoscientists have limited ability to provide people in the region with a good sense of the future risks. "It's a really difficult situation of wishing volcanology could give more to the local people," says Janine Krippner, a volcanologist with the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program in Washington DC, who is based in New Zealand. "But right now, that's not the case."

Most of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai lies under water. It rises more than 2,000 metres from the sea floor and is part of the Tonga-Kermadec volcanic arc. This string of mostly underwater volcanoes sits above a massive geological collision zone, where the western edge of the Pacific plate of Earth's crust dives beneath the Indo-Australian plate. The edge of the Pacific plate heats up as it sinks into the planet's depths, and molten rock rises to feed the volcanoes of the Tonga-Kermadec arc.

Geological evidence shows that large eruptions have convulsed Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai about once every millennium, with huge blasts that occurred in around ad 200 and ad 1100. The past century has brought smaller ones, in 1937 and 1988. By that point, the top of the volcano was peeking out above the waves in the form of two small islands, named Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha'apai.

Then, in 2009, the volcano began spitting ash and steam in an eruption at Hunga Ha'apai. In December 2014 and January 2015, another eruption formed new land that connected the two islands, forming a single landmass,.

Several research teams visited the new island soon after it formed and gathered samples of volcanic ash and rock. Geochemical analysis of that material, described in a paper in Lithos, found that the 2009 and 2014-15 eruptions involved molten rock that had not risen recently from the great depths of Earth's mantle.

Instead, it had spent some time at a geological way station, a magma chamber located 5-8 kilometres deep in Earth's crust. While sitting there, the magma had gone through some tell-tale chemical changes, almost like wine ageing in a barrel, before ultimately erupting onto the surface.

The magma that erupted this January was different. Shane Cronin, a volcanologist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, and his colleagues have analysed ash from the eruption that military relief workers scooped up near the airport on Tonga's largest island. Chemical analysis shows that it differs from that of the 2014-15 eruptions. Cronin says that the fresh magma rose quickly, without spending much time undergoing chemical changes in the buried magma chamber.

Geologist Taaniela Kula and his colleagues at the Tonga Geological Services in Nuku'alofa have been collecting ash samples from islands across Tonga that Cronin and others are analysing. By studying ash from different islands, including noting how thickly and how widely it is distributed, researchers will be able to build up a better picture of how the eruption unfolded.

Surprisingly, there seems to have been relatively little ash emitted, given the size of the blast. That might be a result of the environment in which Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai erupted: under water, but at a relatively shallow depth.

The water factor

Volcanoes in deep water rarely erupt through the ocean surface in big blasts, because the pressure of the overlying water prevents gas bubbles from forming and growing with explosive force. But the volcanic vent that erupted at Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai on 15 January was just tens to 250 metres deep. That's shallow enough that the water didn't suppress the power of the blast, but deep enough for the erupting magma to encounter a lot of water.

Water can fuel explosive eruptions by flash-heating to form steam, which expands quickly. In this way, it efficiently transforms thermal energy from magma into the kinetic energy of an eruption, says Michael Manga, a geoscientist at the University of California, Berkeley. "Some of the most powerful eruptions have been through water," he says.

Another important factor is how much volcanic gas is mixed into the magma before it erupts. A gas-rich upwelling of magma might have fed the 15 January eruption by providing a large number of bubbles to fuel the explosion, says Raymond Cas, a volcanologist and emeritus professor at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.

The eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai is unusual in that it combined features not usually seen together, says Cas. Volcanologists know of other examples of eruptions that occurred under water, or under snow and ice, and thus incorporated water. Scientists have also seen extremely high eruption plumes that towered into the atmosphere. But Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai is a unique example of both things happening together. It might ultimately come to serve as the prototype of a newly recognized type of eruption style, he says.

Most submarine eruptions don't produce particularly high plumes. For instance, in 2012 the massive deep-sea eruption of Havre volcano, north of New Zealand, produced mainly a huge floating collection of lightweight pumice stones. That eruption occurred at a depth of more than 900 metres. "We have relatively few cases where we see large plumes that breach the ocean surface," says Kristen Fauria, a volcano scientist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Yet the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai eruption plume soared to a height of at least 30 kilometres, well into the upper atmosphere, or stratosphere. That's so high that researchers have been scrambling to understand what long-term impact it might have. High-resolution satellite imagery is allowing them to track how ash, gas and certain chemical species are drifting through the atmosphere - in much more detail than they could in 1991, when Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines erupted even more powerfully than Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai. "We have never seen anything like this," says Anja Schmidt, a volcanologist at the German Aerospace Center in Oberpfaffenhofen.

The Tonga volcano didn't emit enough sulfur dioxide to change global climate, as eruptions from some other volcanoes have. It expelled an estimated 400,000 tonnes of SO ₂, whereas the 1991 eruption of Pinatubo ejected nearly 20 million tonnes. That blast temporarily cooled the planet by nearly 0.5 °C, as the sulfur formed sulfate particles that reflected some of the Sun's radiation back into space.

One possible explanation for the discrepancy is that much of the SO ₂ from Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai might have 'fallen out' of the plume at low altitudes, before the plume got too high. But Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai did throw ash high into the stratosphere, and researchers will be looking for signs of any impact on climate, Schmidt says. They will also be watching to see whether the volcanic material causes any destruction of stratospheric ozone, and whether the atmospheric waves the eruption unleashed affect atmospheric circulation patterns in the coming months.

Early findings could come from balloon experiments lofted into the Tongan eruption plume. Several research teams have already launched balloons carrying instruments from the island of La Réunion in the Indian Ocean. One such effort, led by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was able to measure volcanic particles up to a height of 28 kilometres as the plume drifted over La Réunion, says team member Elizabeth Asher, an atmospheric scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences in Boulder, Colorado. That's so high that she expects to see the eruption's atmospheric effects to linger for longer than they would after less-powerful eruptions.

Ripple effects

Another aspect that could reshape volcanology is the way in which Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai unleashed a rich variety of waves that rippled through the oceans and the atmosphere. The reverberations it sent around the world are reminiscent of those seen after the 1883 eruption of Krakatau in Indonesia, says Alan Robock, a climate scientist at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The eruption last month triggered pressure waves and gravity waves in the atmosphere and tsunami waves all around the Pacific Ocean - even in distant ocean basins. GPS satellites also detected disturbances in the ionosphere, the layer of the atmosphere that lies above the stratosphere, starting at a height of 80-90 kilometres.

"There are huge pieces of this puzzle that we haven't quite managed to pull together," says Fournier.

The challenge now is to gather enough data to complete the puzzle. Volcanologists would normally monitor an active volcano using seismometers to study earthquakes in the surrounding area. There are currently no active seismometers in Tonga, so the large quakes that have been happening around Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai since the 15 January eruption have not been tracked in much detail. The data that exist, however, suggest that the quakes are generated by fresh magma rising into the crust to refill the reservoir that was emptied by the large eruption, says Cronin.

Another priority is to survey the sea floor around the volcano to see which parts of its underwater structure have blown up or otherwise changed since previous surveys. Satellite radar imagery suggests that the top part of the volcano has subsided by at least 10 metres, Cronin says. But it is too dangerous to approach the volcano to do a scientific survey just yet.

Some early data might come from relief ships that have been travelling to and around Tonga, such as the one tasked with repairing the submarine cable that connects Tonga to Fiji. This was severed during the eruption, cutting off international communications. The cable might have been buried by a landslide coming off the side of the volcano, or cut in several places.

Foremost in everyone's minds is what Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai might do next. A group of international experts is providing information to the Tonga Geological Services to help the Tongan government to assess the risk and decide what to do. The researchers are weighing up three possible scenarios: the eruption could end, it could continue at a low level or there could be another massive blast. "All these scenarios are still live," says Cronin.

Regardless of what the immediate future holds for this particular volcano, the eruption has volcanologists rethinking the hazards of submarine volcanoes more broadly, says Schmidt. "It's a stark reminder that these kinds of volcanoes exist, that they pose a hazard, and that they are understudied."
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00394-y

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Why the Tongan eruption will go down in the history of volcanology

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The 15 January blast sent shock waves around the globe and defied scientific expectations. Researchers are now scrambling to work out why. The 15 January blast sent shock waves around the globe and defied scientific expectations. Researchers are now scrambling to work out why.

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you need to find a place to hide or get away

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Tests on the "stinging substance" flung at police during the 15th day of the anti-mandate protests outside Parliament have come back "inconclusive".

Three officers had to be treated in hospital after the unknown "stinging substance" was flung at them on February 22 while they were trying to contain the protesters on Molesworth St.

Wellington District Commander Corrie Parnell said on Tuesday that two separate labs analysed material from the high-vis vests worn by police.

She said the tests showed, "no positive results for any form of chemical substance that could have caused the burning sensation".

"At the scene, all members were heavily washed down with a water and baking soda solution which likely washed away any evidence or form of a chemical substance."

Parnell said there were "a variety of liquid substances" at the protest, including pepper spray, at the time the material was thrown at police.

"Police continue to investigate this incident and other possible criminal behaviour related to the protest."

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Wellington protest: 'Inconclusive' tests on substance thrown at police

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Tests on the "stinging substance" flung at police during the 15th day of the anti-mandate protests outside Parliament have come back "inconclusive". Three officers had to be treated in hospital after the unknown "stinging substance" was flung at them on February 22 while they were trying to contain the protesters on Molesworth St.

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The eruption that devastated Tonga on 15 January lasted just 11 hours, but it will take years for scientists to work out exactly what happened during the cataclysmic explosion - and what it means for future volcanic risks.

The volcano, named Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai, sent a plume of ash soaring into the upper atmosphere and triggered a tsunami that destroyed homes on Tonga's nearby islands. Reverberations from the eruption circled the globe multiple times.

The extraordinary power of the blast, captured by a range of sophisticated Earth-observing satellites, is challenging ideas about the physics of eruptions. Researchers are finding it hard to explain why the volcano sent a cloud to such heights, yet emitted less ash than would be expected for an eruption of such magnitude. And the shock waves that rippled through the atmosphere and oceans are unlike anything seen in the modern scientific era.

The eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai is forcing scientists to rethink their ideas on the hazards posed by the many submarine volcanoes that lurk beneath the waves of the Pacific Ocean.

"It just basically rips the Band-Aid on our lack of understanding of what's happening under water," says Nico Fournier, a volcanologist at GNS Science in Taupo, New Zealand.

Fresh danger

The eruption, which happened just 65 kilometres from the Tongan capital of Nuku'alofa, has been a disaster for the more than 100,000 people living in Tonga. They are working to clear away the thick layer of ash that blanketed everything, to establish clean drinking-water supplies and to recover from the crop damage, estimated to equate to nearly 39 million Tongan pa'anga (US$17 million). At least three people have died in Tonga as a result of the eruption. The crisis is being compounded by COVID-19, with Tongans facing their first wave of cases, which started after relief ships arrived from other countries.

But earthquakes continue to shake the region, and the volcanic danger might not be over. Preliminary studies of ash from the 15 January eruption suggest that it was fed by a fresh batch of magma rising from inside Earth. Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai could remain active for some time, with uncertain effects on the people of Tonga.

Geoscientists have limited ability to provide people in the region with a good sense of the future risks. "It's a really difficult situation of wishing volcanology could give more to the local people," says Janine Krippner, a volcanologist with the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program in Washington DC, who is based in New Zealand. "But right now, that's not the case."

Most of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai lies under water. It rises more than 2,000 metres from the sea floor and is part of the Tonga-Kermadec volcanic arc. This string of mostly underwater volcanoes sits above a massive geological collision zone, where the western edge of the Pacific plate of Earth's crust dives beneath the Indo-Australian plate. The edge of the Pacific plate heats up as it sinks into the planet's depths, and molten rock rises to feed the volcanoes of the Tonga-Kermadec arc.

Geological evidence shows that large eruptions have convulsed Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai about once every millennium, with huge blasts that occurred in around ad 200 and ad 1100. The past century has brought smaller ones, in 1937 and 1988. By that point, the top of the volcano was peeking out above the waves in the form of two small islands, named Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha'apai.

Then, in 2009, the volcano began spitting ash and steam in an eruption at Hunga Ha'apai. In December 2014 and January 2015, another eruption formed new land that connected the two islands, forming a single landmass,.

Several research teams visited the new island soon after it formed and gathered samples of volcanic ash and rock. Geochemical analysis of that material, described in a paper in Lithos, found that the 2009 and 2014-15 eruptions involved molten rock that had not risen recently from the great depths of Earth's mantle.

Instead, it had spent some time at a geological way station, a magma chamber located 5-8 kilometres deep in Earth's crust. While sitting there, the magma had gone through some tell-tale chemical changes, almost like wine ageing in a barrel, before ultimately erupting onto the surface.

The magma that erupted this January was different. Shane Cronin, a volcanologist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, and his colleagues have analysed ash from the eruption that military relief workers scooped up near the airport on Tonga's largest island. Chemical analysis shows that it differs from that of the 2014-15 eruptions. Cronin says that the fresh magma rose quickly, without spending much time undergoing chemical changes in the buried magma chamber.

Geologist Taaniela Kula and his colleagues at the Tonga Geological Services in Nuku'alofa have been collecting ash samples from islands across Tonga that Cronin and others are analysing. By studying ash from different islands, including noting how thickly and how widely it is distributed, researchers will be able to build up a better picture of how the eruption unfolded.

Surprisingly, there seems to have been relatively little ash emitted, given the size of the blast. That might be a result of the environment in which Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai erupted: under water, but at a relatively shallow depth.

The water factor

Volcanoes in deep water rarely erupt through the ocean surface in big blasts, because the pressure of the overlying water prevents gas bubbles from forming and growing with explosive force. But the volcanic vent that erupted at Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai on 15 January was just tens to 250 metres deep. That's shallow enough that the water didn't suppress the power of the blast, but deep enough for the erupting magma to encounter a lot of water.

Water can fuel explosive eruptions by flash-heating to form steam, which expands quickly. In this way, it efficiently transforms thermal energy from magma into the kinetic energy of an eruption, says Michael Manga, a geoscientist at the University of California, Berkeley. "Some of the most powerful eruptions have been through water," he says.

Another important factor is how much volcanic gas is mixed into the magma before it erupts. A gas-rich upwelling of magma might have fed the 15 January eruption by providing a large number of bubbles to fuel the explosion, says Raymond Cas, a volcanologist and emeritus professor at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.

The eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai is unusual in that it combined features not usually seen together, says Cas. Volcanologists know of other examples of eruptions that occurred under water, or under snow and ice, and thus incorporated water. Scientists have also seen extremely high eruption plumes that towered into the atmosphere. But Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai is a unique example of both things happening together. It might ultimately come to serve as the prototype of a newly recognized type of eruption style, he says.

Most submarine eruptions don't produce particularly high plumes. For instance, in 2012 the massive deep-sea eruption of Havre volcano, north of New Zealand, produced mainly a huge floating collection of lightweight pumice stones. That eruption occurred at a depth of more than 900 metres. "We have relatively few cases where we see large plumes that breach the ocean surface," says Kristen Fauria, a volcano scientist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Yet the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai eruption plume soared to a height of at least 30 kilometres, well into the upper atmosphere, or stratosphere. That's so high that researchers have been scrambling to understand what long-term impact it might have. High-resolution satellite imagery is allowing them to track how ash, gas and certain chemical species are drifting through the atmosphere - in much more detail than they could in 1991, when Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines erupted even more powerfully than Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai. "We have never seen anything like this," says Anja Schmidt, a volcanologist at the German Aerospace Center in Oberpfaffenhofen.

The Tonga volcano didn't emit enough sulfur dioxide to change global climate, as eruptions from some other volcanoes have. It expelled an estimated 400,000 tonnes of SO ₂, whereas the 1991 eruption of Pinatubo ejected nearly 20 million tonnes. That blast temporarily cooled the planet by nearly 0.5 °C, as the sulfur formed sulfate particles that reflected some of the Sun's radiation back into space.

One possible explanation for the discrepancy is that much of the SO ₂ from Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai might have 'fallen out' of the plume at low altitudes, before the plume got too high. But Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai did throw ash high into the stratosphere, and researchers will be looking for signs of any impact on climate, Schmidt says. They will also be watching to see whether the volcanic material causes any destruction of stratospheric ozone, and whether the atmospheric waves the eruption unleashed affect atmospheric circulation patterns in the coming months.

Early findings could come from balloon experiments lofted into the Tongan eruption plume. Several research teams have already launched balloons carrying instruments from the island of La Réunion in the Indian Ocean. One such effort, led by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was able to measure volcanic particles up to a height of 28 kilometres as the plume drifted over La Réunion, says team member Elizabeth Asher, an atmospheric scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences in Boulder, Colorado. That's so high that she expects to see the eruption's atmospheric effects to linger for longer than they would after less-powerful eruptions.

Ripple effects

Another aspect that could reshape volcanology is the way in which Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai unleashed a rich variety of waves that rippled through the oceans and the atmosphere. The reverberations it sent around the world are reminiscent of those seen after the 1883 eruption of Krakatau in Indonesia, says Alan Robock, a climate scientist at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The eruption last month triggered pressure waves and gravity waves in the atmosphere and tsunami waves all around the Pacific Ocean - even in distant ocean basins. GPS satellites also detected disturbances in the ionosphere, the layer of the atmosphere that lies above the stratosphere, starting at a height of 80-90 kilometres.

"There are huge pieces of this puzzle that we haven't quite managed to pull together," says Fournier.

The challenge now is to gather enough data to complete the puzzle. Volcanologists would normally monitor an active volcano using seismometers to study earthquakes in the surrounding area. There are currently no active seismometers in Tonga, so the large quakes that have been happening around Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai since the 15 January eruption have not been tracked in much detail. The data that exist, however, suggest that the quakes are generated by fresh magma rising into the crust to refill the reservoir that was emptied by the large eruption, says Cronin.

Another priority is to survey the sea floor around the volcano to see which parts of its underwater structure have blown up or otherwise changed since previous surveys. Satellite radar imagery suggests that the top part of the volcano has subsided by at least 10 metres, Cronin says. But it is too dangerous to approach the volcano to do a scientific survey just yet.

Some early data might come from relief ships that have been travelling to and around Tonga, such as the one tasked with repairing the submarine cable that connects Tonga to Fiji. This was severed during the eruption, cutting off international communications. The cable might have been buried by a landslide coming off the side of the volcano, or cut in several places.

Foremost in everyone's minds is what Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai might do next. A group of international experts is providing information to the Tonga Geological Services to help the Tongan government to assess the risk and decide what to do. The researchers are weighing up three possible scenarios: the eruption could end, it could continue at a low level or there could be another massive blast. "All these scenarios are still live," says Cronin.

Regardless of what the immediate future holds for this particular volcano, the eruption has volcanologists rethinking the hazards of submarine volcanoes more broadly, says Schmidt. "It's a stark reminder that these kinds of volcanoes exist, that they pose a hazard, and that they are understudied."
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00394-y

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Why the Tongan eruption will go down in the history of volcanology

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The 15 January blast sent shock waves around the globe and defied scientific expectations. Researchers are now scrambling to work out why. The 15 January blast sent shock waves around the globe and defied scientific expectations. Researchers are now scrambling to work out why.

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getting a new pet

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Images by aleksus

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hurricanes natural disaster - Google Search

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florida impact hawaii flood tornado tropical cyclones earthquakes hurricane katrina tsunami typhoon

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You need mask and be nice

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Kaik%C5%8Dura_earthquake

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The 2016 Kaikoura earthquake was a magnitude 7.8 (M w) earthquake in the South Island of New Zealand that occurred two minutes after midnight on 14 November 2016 NZDT (11:02 on 13 November UTC). Ruptures occurred on multiple faults and the earthquake has been described as the "most complex earthquake ever studied".

The earthquake started at about 15 kilometres (9 mi) north-east of Culverden and 60 kilometres (37 mi) south-west of the tourist town of Kaikōura and at a depth of approximately 15 kilometres (9 mi). The complex sequence of ruptures lasted for about two minutes. The cumulative magnitude of the ruptures was 7.8, with the largest amount of that energy released far to the north of the epicentre.

The quake was the second largest New Zealand earthquake since European settlement of the country. Over $1.8 billion in insurance claims were received. There were two deaths, in Kaikōura and Mount Lyford.

A complex sequence of ruptures with a combined magnitude of 7.8 started at 00:02:56 NZDT on 14 November 2016 and lasted approximately two minutes. The hypocentre (the point where the ruptures started) was at a depth of 15 kilometres (9 mi). The epicentre (the point on the Earth's surface above the hypocentre) was 15 kilometres (9 mi) north-east of Culverden and 95 km (59 mi) from Christchurch. From the hypocentre, ruptures ripped northwards at a speed of 2 km per second, over a distance of up to 200 km (124 mi). The largest amount of energy released did not occur at the epicentre, rather 100 km (62 mi) to the north near Seddon. Initial field surveys indicated ruptures on at least six faults, while more detailed studies confirmed ruptures on twenty-five faults. This is considered a world record for the greatest number of faults to rupture in a single earthquake event. The earthquake was assessed as the 'most complex earthquake ever studied' and prompted the reassessment of a number of assumptions about earthquake processes.

There was motion on the Kekerengu Fault of up to 10 m (33 ft), movement on the Hundalee Fault, a newly identified fault in Waipapa Bay, as well as minor motion on the Seaward segment of the Hope Fault, and rupture on the Humps Fault and in the Emu Plains area. The offshore continuation of the Kekerengu Fault to the north east, known as the Needles Fault, ruptured as well. NIWA marine geologist Dr Philip Barnes said the length of the Kekerengu-Needles Fault rupture may extend for about 70 km (43 mi), consisting of 36 km (22 mi) on land and 34 km (21 mi) under the sea.

Cape Campbell, at the north-eastern tip of the South Island, moved to the north-northeast by more than two metres - putting it that much closer to the North Island - and rose almost one metre. Kaikōura moved to the northeast by nearly one metre, and rose seventy centimetres. The east coast of the North Island moved west by up to five centimetres, and the Wellington region moved two to six centimetres to the north. Christchurch moved two centimetres to the south.

The tsunami that followed the Kaikōura earthquake reached a peak height of about 7 metres. The tsunami was found to be highest at Goose Bay, with data indicating a maximum run-up height above tide level at the time of the tsunami of 6.9 m ± 0.3 m. At Oaro, the height was 5.3 m ± 0.3 m. Marine and freshwater flora and fauna were later found scattered across the Oaro River flood plain, extending 250 metres (820 ft) inland from the high tide mark on the day of the survey.

Immediately after the earthquake, the tide level at the Kaikōura tide gauge started dropping. Over 25 minutes, it dropped about 2.5 m, a classic warning sign of a tsunami. During the next 15 minutes, the water level rose from its lowest level by about 4 m. That was followed by a series of waves over several hours. The water level at the Kaikōura gauge rose 2.5 m higher than it would have been. This was made up of a 1.5 m rise measured on the gauge, and a rise of about 1 m of the gauge itself, as the seabed and surrounding land rose by that amount. Some other tide gauges that recorded the tsunami were in Wellington Harbour, Castlepoint, Christchurch, and the Chatham Islands.

A tsunami estimated at five metres high struck the north-facing Little Pigeon Bay on Banks Peninsula. The bay contained only one building, an unoccupied holiday house that was pushed off its foundations and heavily damaged. In neighbouring Pigeon Bay, the tsunami was observed at about 2 am but caused no damage.

Kaikōura and North Canterbury

Two people died in the earthquake. A man was crushed and died when the historic Elms Farm homestead near Kaikōura collapsed. Two other people were rescued from the rubble of the house, including the man's 100-year-old mother. A woman died in a log house that was damaged at Mount Lyford. Early reports said her cause of death was a heart attack, but an autopsy later indicated it was a head injury suffered during the earthquake.

Many major roads were closed in the South Island because of slips and damage to bridges, including State Highway 1 between Picton and Waipara, and State Highway 7 between Waipara and Springs Junction (SH 65 turnoff). Most roads were cleared within 24 hours, but SH 1 between Seddon and Cheviot via Kaikōura and the Inland Kaikoura Road remained closed. The closure of SH1, the Inland Kaikoura Road and the Main North Line railway effectively cut off all land routes into Kaikōura.

As of the morning of 19 November, Kaikōura remained cut off by road due to landslides, damaged bridges and infrastructure, road subsidence, and the risk of falling debris. The NZ Transport Agency said that State Highway 1 would take months to repair, while repairs to the rail line, a key freight connection between Wellington and Christchurch, were likely to take more than a year. Parts of the diversion route via State Highways 63, 6, 65 and 7 were experiencing four times their usual traffic volume.

Mains water supply was mostly restored to Kaikōura township by 19 November, but supply was in a "fragile state" and conservation was necessary. The sewage system was "severely damaged" and unusable.

On 30 November 2016, the Inland Kaikoura Road, redesignated "Kaikoura Emergency Access Road", was reopened to civilian drivers holding a permit and for restricted times of the day. Twenty-five crews had worked to clear 50 landslips on that highway alone. It reopened unrestricted to all traffic on 19 December 2016.

State Highway 1 south of Kaikōura reopened two days later on 21 December 2016, albeit only during daylight hours. Repair of the highway north of Kaikōura took substantially longer, with the repaired highway opening over a year later on 15 December 2017. The long term closure of State Highway 1 north of Kaikōura (between Mangamaunu and Clarence) resulted in a detour through the Lewis Pass being the only major route from Picton to Christchurch. This highway had to be upgraded significantly due to this increased usage.

The section of the Main North Line rail link from Picton south to Lake Grassmere reopened on 16 January 2017. The complete railway from Picton to Christchurch was not restored until 15 September 2017, though service was limited thereafter by continued landslides and repair work; passenger service did not resume until 1 December 2018.

Uplift along the coast at Kaikōura (up to 6 metres) exposed the intertidal zone, which resulted in a large-scale die off of many organisms including Durvillaea bull kelp. The loss of Durvillaea kelp caused ecological disturbance, significantly affecting the biodiversity of the local intertidal community.

In the city of Wellington, buildings were damaged, several beyond repair. Damage to docks briefly halted ferry traffic across Cook Strait; more significantly, container shipping did not resume for over ten months. The Wellington City Council was given special powers to require reports from building owners, and there were doubts about application of the rules. Several buildings were closed temporarily because of doubts about stairwells. In Lower Hutt, a cinema complex and part of the carpark in the Queensgate Shopping Centre was deemed unsafe and was demolished. At Ava railway station, one of the pedestrian access ramps was damaged and was removed during the weekend of 17 and 18 December, leaving the station without wheelchair access; the ramp was rebuilt and reopened in October 2018.

A 54-year-old nine-storey office block, the former ICI Building at 61 Molesworth Street, was demolished during December 2016 after fears that it could collapse. The Reading Cinema parking building off Courtenay Place was also damaged and was demolished during January 2017. Both building failures resulted in a section of the adjacent street (Molesworth Street and Tory Street) being closed off for a period.

By February 2017, business insurance claims had passed NZ$900 million. The Wellington region had two thirds (65%) of the total losses, followed by the upper South Island at 25%, Canterbury at 8% and the remaining 2% from other North Island claims.

In 2016 and 2017 it was decided that several other buildings would be demolished, not repaired: the Figaro Block of the Malvina Major Retirement Village in Burma Road, Johnsonville, the eleven year old, seven-storey NZDF headquarters, and Statistics House at Centreport on the waterfront. Several buildings failed because of unsatisfactory design features or collapse of building services in buildings constructed only in the previous decade.

Several houses in the coastal suburb of New Brighton in Christchurch were looted after the occupants left because of tsunami risk.

Schools and universities across the region were told to remain closed until the situation could be assessed, affecting the end-of-year NCEA examinations for secondary school students. Exams on the day of the earthquake were cancelled in many schools, including all of Wellington. Students received derived grades for any exams due to be taken the week of the earthquake.

Prime Minister John Key surveyed the damage from the air and later described the scenes as "utter devastation" and estimated that reconstruction would take months and cost billions of dollars.

The New Zealand Defence Force dispatched five Royal New Zealand Air Force helicopters (four NH90s and one Agusta A109), a P-3 Orion and a C-130 Hercules to survey and provide essential emergency supplies to the most-severely affected areas around Kaikōura. Kaikoura Aerodrome was too small to take larger multi-engine aircraft so landing was limited to helicopters and small aircraft. The Royal New Zealand Navy's multi-role vessel HMNZS Canterbury and off-shore patrol vessel HMNZS Wellington were deployed to Kaikōura to provide aid supplies and evacuate people. HMCS Vancouver, HMAS Darwin and USS Sampson, in New Zealand waters for the RNZN's 75th birthday celebrations in Auckland, were redirected by their respective governments to assist. A United States Navy P-3 Orion of VP-47 and two Kawasaki P-1s of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's Air Patrol Squadron 3, also visiting RNZAF Base Whenuapai for the RNZN 75th anniversary events, were deployed to assist. The New Zealand Defence Force also deployed HMNZS Te Kaha and HMNZS Endeavour to support the operation.

The New Zealand Fire Service dispatched urban search and rescue teams to Wellington and Kaikōura. Paramedics were also dispatched from St John.

Nearly 200 people had been airlifted out of Kaikōura by late evening on 15 November, with about 1,000 still to be evacuated on the following morning. Stranded tourists with health issues and travel plans were put on a flight priority list. HMNZS Canterbury arrived in Kaikōura on 16 November and transported about 450 evacuees, 4 dogs, and 7 tonnes of luggage to Lyttelton, arriving early the following morning.

On the morning of 20 November, HMNZS Canterbury arrived at Lyttelton with another group of evacuees, bringing the total number evacuated from Kaikōura to more than 900.

Magnitude of Kaikōura earthquakes

Number of aftershocks within 200 km of Kaikōura

Merrifield, ALR (Rob) (2018). The Kaikoura Job: Rebuilding KiwiRail's Main North Line. Wellington: NZ Railway & Locomotive Society. ISBN 978-0-908573-96-7.

Pennington, Phil (2017). Surviving 7.8: New Zealanders respond to the earthquakes of November 2016. Auckland: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-1-7755-4110-3.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The 2016 Kaikoura earthquake was a magnitude 7.8 (M w) earthquake in the South Island of New Zealand that occurred two minutes after midnight on 14 November 2016 NZDT (11:02 on 13 November UTC). Ruptures occurred on multiple faults and the earthquake has been described as the "most complex earthquake ever studied".

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Kaik%C5%8Dura_earthquake
earthquake hit kaikoura in 2016

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The 2016 Kaikoura earthquake was a magnitude 7.8 (M w) earthquake in the South Island of New Zealand that occurred two minutes after midnight on 14 November 2016 NZDT (11:02 on 13 November UTC). Ruptures occurred on multiple faults and the earthquake has been described as the "most complex earthquake ever studied".

The earthquake started at about 15 kilometres (9 mi) north-east of Culverden and 60 kilometres (37 mi) south-west of the tourist town of Kaikōura and at a depth of approximately 15 kilometres (9 mi). The complex sequence of ruptures lasted for about two minutes. The cumulative magnitude of the ruptures was 7.8, with the largest amount of that energy released far to the north of the epicentre.

The quake was the second largest New Zealand earthquake since European settlement of the country. Over $1.8 billion in insurance claims were received. There were two deaths, in Kaikōura and Mount Lyford.

A complex sequence of ruptures with a combined magnitude of 7.8 started at 00:02:56 NZDT on 14 November 2016 and lasted approximately two minutes. The hypocentre (the point where the ruptures started) was at a depth of 15 kilometres (9 mi). The epicentre (the point on the Earth's surface above the hypocentre) was 15 kilometres (9 mi) north-east of Culverden and 95 km (59 mi) from Christchurch. From the hypocentre, ruptures ripped northwards at a speed of 2 km per second, over a distance of up to 200 km (124 mi). The largest amount of energy released did not occur at the epicentre, rather 100 km (62 mi) to the north near Seddon. Initial field surveys indicated ruptures on at least six faults, while more detailed studies confirmed ruptures on twenty-five faults. This is considered a world record for the greatest number of faults to rupture in a single earthquake event. The earthquake was assessed as the 'most complex earthquake ever studied' and prompted the reassessment of a number of assumptions about earthquake processes.

There was motion on the Kekerengu Fault of up to 10 m (33 ft), movement on the Hundalee Fault, a newly identified fault in Waipapa Bay, as well as minor motion on the Seaward segment of the Hope Fault, and rupture on the Humps Fault and in the Emu Plains area. The offshore continuation of the Kekerengu Fault to the north east, known as the Needles Fault, ruptured as well. NIWA marine geologist Dr Philip Barnes said the length of the Kekerengu-Needles Fault rupture may extend for about 70 km (43 mi), consisting of 36 km (22 mi) on land and 34 km (21 mi) under the sea.

Cape Campbell, at the north-eastern tip of the South Island, moved to the north-northeast by more than two metres - putting it that much closer to the North Island - and rose almost one metre. Kaikōura moved to the northeast by nearly one metre, and rose seventy centimetres. The east coast of the North Island moved west by up to five centimetres, and the Wellington region moved two to six centimetres to the north. Christchurch moved two centimetres to the south.

The tsunami that followed the Kaikōura earthquake reached a peak height of about 7 metres. The tsunami was found to be highest at Goose Bay, with data indicating a maximum run-up height above tide level at the time of the tsunami of 6.9 m ± 0.3 m. At Oaro, the height was 5.3 m ± 0.3 m. Marine and freshwater flora and fauna were later found scattered across the Oaro River flood plain, extending 250 metres (820 ft) inland from the high tide mark on the day of the survey.

Immediately after the earthquake, the tide level at the Kaikōura tide gauge started dropping. Over 25 minutes, it dropped about 2.5 m, a classic warning sign of a tsunami. During the next 15 minutes, the water level rose from its lowest level by about 4 m. That was followed by a series of waves over several hours. The water level at the Kaikōura gauge rose 2.5 m higher than it would have been. This was made up of a 1.5 m rise measured on the gauge, and a rise of about 1 m of the gauge itself, as the seabed and surrounding land rose by that amount. Some other tide gauges that recorded the tsunami were in Wellington Harbour, Castlepoint, Christchurch, and the Chatham Islands.

A tsunami estimated at five metres high struck the north-facing Little Pigeon Bay on Banks Peninsula. The bay contained only one building, an unoccupied holiday house that was pushed off its foundations and heavily damaged. In neighbouring Pigeon Bay, the tsunami was observed at about 2 am but caused no damage.

Kaikōura and North Canterbury

Two people died in the earthquake. A man was crushed and died when the historic Elms Farm homestead near Kaikōura collapsed. Two other people were rescued from the rubble of the house, including the man's 100-year-old mother. A woman died in a log house that was damaged at Mount Lyford. Early reports said her cause of death was a heart attack, but an autopsy later indicated it was a head injury suffered during the earthquake.

Many major roads were closed in the South Island because of slips and damage to bridges, including State Highway 1 between Picton and Waipara, and State Highway 7 between Waipara and Springs Junction (SH 65 turnoff). Most roads were cleared within 24 hours, but SH 1 between Seddon and Cheviot via Kaikōura and the Inland Kaikoura Road remained closed. The closure of SH1, the Inland Kaikoura Road and the Main North Line railway effectively cut off all land routes into Kaikōura.

As of the morning of 19 November, Kaikōura remained cut off by road due to landslides, damaged bridges and infrastructure, road subsidence, and the risk of falling debris. The NZ Transport Agency said that State Highway 1 would take months to repair, while repairs to the rail line, a key freight connection between Wellington and Christchurch, were likely to take more than a year. Parts of the diversion route via State Highways 63, 6, 65 and 7 were experiencing four times their usual traffic volume.

Mains water supply was mostly restored to Kaikōura township by 19 November, but supply was in a "fragile state" and conservation was necessary. The sewage system was "severely damaged" and unusable.

On 30 November 2016, the Inland Kaikoura Road, redesignated "Kaikoura Emergency Access Road", was reopened to civilian drivers holding a permit and for restricted times of the day. Twenty-five crews had worked to clear 50 landslips on that highway alone. It reopened unrestricted to all traffic on 19 December 2016.

State Highway 1 south of Kaikōura reopened two days later on 21 December 2016, albeit only during daylight hours. Repair of the highway north of Kaikōura took substantially longer, with the repaired highway opening over a year later on 15 December 2017. The long term closure of State Highway 1 north of Kaikōura (between Mangamaunu and Clarence) resulted in a detour through the Lewis Pass being the only major route from Picton to Christchurch. This highway had to be upgraded significantly due to this increased usage.

The section of the Main North Line rail link from Picton south to Lake Grassmere reopened on 16 January 2017. The complete railway from Picton to Christchurch was not restored until 15 September 2017, though service was limited thereafter by continued landslides and repair work; passenger service did not resume until 1 December 2018.

Uplift along the coast at Kaikōura (up to 6 metres) exposed the intertidal zone, which resulted in a large-scale die off of many organisms including Durvillaea bull kelp. The loss of Durvillaea kelp caused ecological disturbance, significantly affecting the biodiversity of the local intertidal community.

In the city of Wellington, buildings were damaged, several beyond repair. Damage to docks briefly halted ferry traffic across Cook Strait; more significantly, container shipping did not resume for over ten months. The Wellington City Council was given special powers to require reports from building owners, and there were doubts about application of the rules. Several buildings were closed temporarily because of doubts about stairwells. In Lower Hutt, a cinema complex and part of the carpark in the Queensgate Shopping Centre was deemed unsafe and was demolished. At Ava railway station, one of the pedestrian access ramps was damaged and was removed during the weekend of 17 and 18 December, leaving the station without wheelchair access; the ramp was rebuilt and reopened in October 2018.

A 54-year-old nine-storey office block, the former ICI Building at 61 Molesworth Street, was demolished during December 2016 after fears that it could collapse. The Reading Cinema parking building off Courtenay Place was also damaged and was demolished during January 2017. Both building failures resulted in a section of the adjacent street (Molesworth Street and Tory Street) being closed off for a period.

By February 2017, business insurance claims had passed NZ$900 million. The Wellington region had two thirds (65%) of the total losses, followed by the upper South Island at 25%, Canterbury at 8% and the remaining 2% from other North Island claims.

In 2016 and 2017 it was decided that several other buildings would be demolished, not repaired: the Figaro Block of the Malvina Major Retirement Village in Burma Road, Johnsonville, the eleven year old, seven-storey NZDF headquarters, and Statistics House at Centreport on the waterfront. Several buildings failed because of unsatisfactory design features or collapse of building services in buildings constructed only in the previous decade.

Several houses in the coastal suburb of New Brighton in Christchurch were looted after the occupants left because of tsunami risk.

Schools and universities across the region were told to remain closed until the situation could be assessed, affecting the end-of-year NCEA examinations for secondary school students. Exams on the day of the earthquake were cancelled in many schools, including all of Wellington. Students received derived grades for any exams due to be taken the week of the earthquake.

Prime Minister John Key surveyed the damage from the air and later described the scenes as "utter devastation" and estimated that reconstruction would take months and cost billions of dollars.

The New Zealand Defence Force dispatched five Royal New Zealand Air Force helicopters (four NH90s and one Agusta A109), a P-3 Orion and a C-130 Hercules to survey and provide essential emergency supplies to the most-severely affected areas around Kaikōura. Kaikoura Aerodrome was too small to take larger multi-engine aircraft so landing was limited to helicopters and small aircraft. The Royal New Zealand Navy's multi-role vessel HMNZS Canterbury and off-shore patrol vessel HMNZS Wellington were deployed to Kaikōura to provide aid supplies and evacuate people. HMCS Vancouver, HMAS Darwin and USS Sampson, in New Zealand waters for the RNZN's 75th birthday celebrations in Auckland, were redirected by their respective governments to assist. A United States Navy P-3 Orion of VP-47 and two Kawasaki P-1s of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's Air Patrol Squadron 3, also visiting RNZAF Base Whenuapai for the RNZN 75th anniversary events, were deployed to assist. The New Zealand Defence Force also deployed HMNZS Te Kaha and HMNZS Endeavour to support the operation.

The New Zealand Fire Service dispatched urban search and rescue teams to Wellington and Kaikōura. Paramedics were also dispatched from St John.

Nearly 200 people had been airlifted out of Kaikōura by late evening on 15 November, with about 1,000 still to be evacuated on the following morning. Stranded tourists with health issues and travel plans were put on a flight priority list. HMNZS Canterbury arrived in Kaikōura on 16 November and transported about 450 evacuees, 4 dogs, and 7 tonnes of luggage to Lyttelton, arriving early the following morning.

On the morning of 20 November, HMNZS Canterbury arrived at Lyttelton with another group of evacuees, bringing the total number evacuated from Kaikōura to more than 900.

Magnitude of Kaikōura earthquakes

Number of aftershocks within 200 km of Kaikōura

Merrifield, ALR (Rob) (2018). The Kaikoura Job: Rebuilding KiwiRail's Main North Line. Wellington: NZ Railway & Locomotive Society. ISBN 978-0-908573-96-7.

Pennington, Phil (2017). Surviving 7.8: New Zealanders respond to the earthquakes of November 2016. Auckland: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-1-7755-4110-3.

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The 2016 Kaikoura earthquake was a magnitude 7.8 (M w) earthquake in the South Island of New Zealand that occurred two minutes after midnight on 14 November 2016 NZDT (11:02 on 13 November UTC). Ruptures occurred on multiple faults and the earthquake has been described as the "most complex earthquake ever studied".

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Bola

Cyclone Bola New Zealand.

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The war between Ukraine and Russia and what has recently happened between to two countries.

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Citizens fill bags with sand for frontlines, along the beach of the Black Sea city of Odesa, in the southern Ukraine [Bulent Kilic/AFP]

Two weeks into Russia's war in Ukraine, Kyiv's forces are preparing for a potential attack by Moscow's troops on the historic port city of Odesa on the Black Sea.

Situated 300km (186 miles) west of the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula, the city is seen as a strategic asset by both Ukraine and Russia - and its fall would have significant repercussions, not only for the two countries, but also for the wider Black Sea region, experts warn.

Russian troops, advancing west of Crimea, have already taken the port city of Kherson and arrived at Mykolaiv, just 120km (75 miles) east of Odesa. Russian navy ships have been spotted close to Ukrainian territorial waters, raising fears of a possible attack from the sea.

On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian army is planning a violent assault on the city, calling it an "historical crime". Earlier last week, he dismissed the civilian governor of Odesa province, Serhiy Hrynevetsky, and replaced him with Maksym Marchenko, an army colonel and former leader of the controversial Aidar battalion, which has fought in the Donbas region in Ukraine's east since 2014.

The Ukrainian military has already established defensive positions across Odesa, imposed a curfew and set up roadblocks at all entrances to the city of one million people. The ports have been closed to commercial shipping, while the evacuation of civilians has begun.

'A pivotal lifeline to overseas'

Odesa is of strategic military and economic importance to Ukraine. After losing its naval base in Sevastopol following the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the Ukrainian navy moved its headquarters there.

Its three ports also play an important role in the economy of the country. Some 70 percent of all Ukrainian imports and exports are in the form of sea cargo - and Odesa handles about 65 percent of that.

"[For Ukraine,] Odesa represents a pivotal lifeline to overseas," Alexey Muraviev, associate professor of national security and strategic studies at Curtin University, told Al Jazeera. "If Russia seizes Odesa, it will effectively cut off Ukraine from overseas trade and military aid."

The loss of the port city could have significant ramifications for Ukraine and its war effort and give Russia a strategic advantage. Ukraine does not have any other large ports to rely on in case it loses control of its third largest city, allowing Russia to effectively dominate the whole of the northern Black Sea coast.

"In the context of the Russia-Ukraine war, the battle for Odesa would play one of the key roles in determining the future political outcome of the current conflict," Muraviev said. "For Russia, the complete control of the Ukraine's Black Sea and the Sea of Azov coasts may [be more important] than the seizure of Kharkiv or western Ukraine combined."

'They want Odesa intact'

Capturing Odesa would also have a particular symbolic significance, given the important status it holds in Russian culture and history.

Founded in 1794 by Russian Empress Catherine the Great, Odesa became a crucial seaport and a cosmopolitan urban centre, home not only to Russians and Ukrainians, but also to Armenian, Bulgarian, Greek, Jewish and other communities. With its ornate architecture designed by Italian artists and rich cultural life, the city turned into one of the symbols of Russian imperial prestige and power.

The local authorities have expressed hope that the port city's historical importance could spare it from the destructive aerial assaults other Ukrainian cities have experienced.

"They want Odesa intact, Odesa's infrastructure, architecture and strategic meaning. They want all of those undamaged. That's why I think Odesa will be subject to a special operation," Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov told the US's Public Broadcasting Service.

The city is also home to a sizeable ethnic Russian community, a factor that some Russian observers have claimed could help a military attempt to capture the city.

In 2014, as separatist forces backed by Russia started armed rebellions in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions against the central government in Kyiv, Odesa also witnessed some violence. Ukrainian ultranationalists clashed with pro-Russia groups opposing pro-Western protests, which culminated in the deaths of more than 40 people.

In his February 21 speech recognising "the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR)", Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged to find those responsible for the violence in Odesa and hold them accountable.

But according to Anton Barbashin, a political analyst and editorial director of Riddle Russia, the events eight years ago and the presence of ethnic Russians in the city are unlikely to help Russia advance in Odesa.

"In 2014, the Ukrainians stopped an attempt to make Odesa into Odessa People's Republic. There is clearly not a lot of pro-Russia sentiment, especially at this moment," he told Al Jazeera.

In his view, the current difficulties the Russian army is experiencing in advancing on a few fronts could also reflect on its ability to capture Odesa. The Russian forces have been overstretched and ensuring supply routes and reinforcements could be a challenge.

"We do see how tough it is for Russian forces to attempt to occupy territories that are much closer to Russia than Odesa," Barbashin said.

Transnistria and regional security

The capture of Odesa could have negative consequences not only for Ukraine, but also for the security of its neighbours. Defence analysts have pointed out that controlling the city would enable the Russian forces to open a land corridor to the breakaway region of Transnistria, which has sought independence from Moldova since the 1990s.

The region hosts some 1,500 Russian troops deployed as part of a peacekeeping force created following a 1992 ceasefire agreement between Chisinau and Transnistrian separatists. So far, Russia has not recognised the self-proclaimed Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, but there has been speculation that Moscow may seek to include it in a "union state" along with Belarus, the DPR and LPR, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

"The idea of getting all these 'lost' Soviet territories back to Russia ... was endorsed by a number of foreign policy circles," said Barbashin.

A move towards Transnistria would likely destabilise Moldova, which like Ukraine, is not a NATO or a European Union member. On March 3, the Moldovan government filed a formal request for accession to the EU, fearing a spillover of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Further south, Bulgaria and Romania have also watched anxiously the events in Ukraine.

According to Dimitar Bechev, a visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe, the two countries have already felt threatened following the annexation of Crimea and Moscow's deployment of missile systems and expansion of its Black Sea fleet on the peninsula.

"[The potential fall of] Odesa would only strengthen Moscow's [hand]," he told Al Jazeera. "In practical terms, this would remove the territorial buffer between us [Bulgaria and Romania] and Russia."

In his view, this is likely to result in NATO beefing up its ground presence in Bulgaria and Romania. A heightened navy presence is unlikely given the limitations set in the Montreux Convention of 1936, which governs the use of the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits. The document, which both Romania and Bulgaria are signatories to, restricts the passage of navy ships that do not belong to the Black Sea.
You can follow Mariya Petkova on Twitter @mkpetkova

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The battle for Odesa - and what it means for Russia-Ukraine war

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Two weeks into Russia's war in Ukraine, Kyiv's forces are preparing for a potential attack by Moscow's troops on the historic port city of Odesa on the Black Sea.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tsunamis_affecting_New_Zealand

Tsunamis effecting New Zealand.

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Images

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https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/the-tangiwai-railway-disaster

New Zealand tangiwai disaster

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How national womans days has help us woman have a right to speack

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International Women's Day ( IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 to commemorate the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of women. It is also a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women.

IWD originated from labor movements in North America and Europe during the early 20th century. The earliest version was purportedly a "Women's Day" organized by the Socialist Party of America in New York City February 28, 1909. This inspired German delegates at the 1910 International Socialist Woman's Conference to propose "a special Women's Day" be organized annually, albeit with no set date; the following year saw the first demonstrations and commemorations of International Women's Day across Europe. After women gained suffrage in Soviet Russia in 1917 (the beginning of the February Revolution), IWD was made a national holiday on March 8; it was subsequently celebrated on that date by the socialist movement and communist countries. The holiday was associated with far-left movements and governments until its adoption by the global feminist movement in the late 1960s. IWD became a mainstream global holiday following its adoption by the United Nations in 1977.

International Women's Day is commemorated in a variety of ways worldwide; it is a public holiday in several countries, and observed socially or locally in others. The UN observes the holiday in connection with a particular issue, campaign, or theme in women's rights. In some parts of the world, IWD still reflects its political origins, being marked by protests and calls for radical change; in other areas, particularly in the West, it is largely sociocultural and centered on a celebration of womanhood.

The earliest purported Women's Day observance, called " National Woman's Day", was held on February 28, 1909, in New York City, organized by the Socialist Party of America at the suggestion of activist Theresa Malkiel. There have been claims that the day was commemorating a protest by women garment workers in New York on March 8, 1857, but researchers have alleged this to be a myth intended to detach International Women's Day from its socialist origin.

In August 1910, an International Socialist Women's Conference was organized ahead of the general meeting of the Socialist Second International in Copenhagen, Denmark. Inspired in part by the American socialists, German delegates Clara Zetkin, Käte Duncker, Paula Thiede, and others proposed the establishment of an annual "Women's Day", although no date was specified. The 100 delegates, representing 17 countries, agreed with the idea as a strategy to promote equal rights, including women's suffrage.

The following year, on March 19, 1911, the first International Women's Day (IWD) was marked by over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. In the Austria-Hungary alone, there were 300 demonstrations, with women parading on the Ringstrasse in Vienna, carrying banners honoring the martyrs of the Paris Commune. Across Europe, women demanded the right to vote and to hold public office, and protested against employment sex discrimination.

IWD initially had no set date, though it was generally celebrated in late February or early March. Americans continued to observe "National Women's Day" on the last Sunday in February, while Russia observed International Women's Day for the first time in 1913, on the last Saturday in February (albeit based on the Julian calendar, as in the Gregorian calendar, the date was March 8). In 1914, International Women's Day was held on March 8 for the first time in Germany, possibly because that date was a Sunday. As elsewhere, Germany's observance was dedicated to women's right to vote, which German women did not win until 1918. Concurrently, there was a march in London in support of women's suffrage, during which Sylvia Pankhurst was arrested in front of Charing Cross station on her way to speak in Trafalgar Square.

On March 8, 1917 in Petrograd, women textile workers began a demonstration that eventually engulfed the whole city, demanding "Bread and Peace"-an end to World War I, to food shortages, and to czarism. This marked the beginning of the February Revolution, which alongside the October Revolution, made up the Russian Revolution. Revolutionary leader Leon Trotsky wrote, "23 February (8th March) was International Woman's Day and meetings and actions were foreseen. But we did not imagine that this 'Women's Day' would inaugurate the revolution. Revolutionary actions were foreseen but without a date. But in the morning, despite the orders to the contrary, textile workers left their work in several factories and sent delegates to ask for the support of the strike... which led to mass strike... all went out into the streets." Seven days later, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated, and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote.

In 1917, following the October Revolution, Bolsheviks Alexandra Kollontai and Vladimir Lenin made IWD an official holiday in the Soviet Union. On May 8, 1965, the USSR Presidium of the Supreme Soviet decreed International Women's Day a non-working day in the USSR, "in commemoration of the outstanding merits of Soviet women in communistic construction, in the defense of their Fatherland during the Great Patriotic War, in their heroism and selflessness at the front and in the rear, and also marking the great contribution of women to strengthening friendship between peoples, and the struggle for peace. But still, women's day must be celebrated as are other holidays."[citation needed ]

After its official adoption in Soviet Russia, IWD was predominantly celebrated in communist countries and by the communist movement worldwide. Communist leader Dolores Ibárruri led a women's march in Madrid in 1936 on the eve of the Spanish Civil War. Chinese communists observed the holiday beginning in 1922, though it soon gained traction across the political spectrum: In 1927, Guangzhou saw a march of 25,000 women and male supporters, including representatives of the Kuomintang, the YWCA, and labor organizations. After the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949, the State Council proclaimed on December 23 that March 8 would be made an official holiday, with women given a half-day off.

IWD remained predominantly a communist holiday until roughly 1967 when it was taken up by second-wave feminists. The day re-emerged as a day of activism, and is sometimes known in Europe as the "Women's International Day of Struggle". In the 1970s and 1980s, women's groups were joined by leftists and labor organizations in calling for equal pay, equal economic opportunity, equal legal rights, reproductive rights, subsidized child care, and the prevention of violence against women.

The United Nations began celebrating International Women's Day in 1975, which had been proclaimed the International Women's Year. In 1977, the United Nations General Assembly invited member states to proclaim March 8 as an official UN holiday for women's rights and world peace. It has since been commemorated annually by the UN and much of the world, with each year's observance centered on a particular theme or issue within women's rights.

International Women's Day sparked violence in Tehran, Iran on March 4, 2007, when police beat hundreds of men and women who were planning a rally. (A previous rally for the occasion was held in Tehran in 2003.) Police arrested dozens of women and some were released after several days of solitary confinement and interrogation. Shadi Sadr, Mahbubeh Abbasgholizadeh and several more community activists were released on March 19, 2007, ending a fifteen-day hunger strike.

By the twenty-first century, IWD has been criticized as heavily diluted and commercialized, particularly in the West, where it is sponsored by major corporations and used to promote general and vague notions of equality, rather than radical social reforms. A @dot.com@ website was established in 2001; it sets out a yearly theme and hashtags, unconnected with the UN project. In 2009, the website was being managed by the British marketing firm Aurora Ventures with corporate sponsorship. The website began to promote hashtags as themes for the day, which became used internationally. The day was commemorated by business breakfasts and social media communications that were deemed by some social critics as reminiscent of Mother's Day greetings.

Though the celebration in the West was low-key, events took place in more than 100 countries on March 8, 2011, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day. In the United States, President Barack Obama proclaimed March 2011 to be " Women's History Month", calling Americans to mark IWD by reflecting on "the extraordinary accomplishments of women" in shaping the country's history. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launched the "100 Women Initiative: Empowering Women and Girls through International Exchanges", on the eve of IWD. In the run-up to 2011 International Women's Day, the Red Cross called on States and other entities not to relent in their efforts to prevent rape and other forms of sexual violence that harm the lives and dignity of countless women in conflict zones around the world every year.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) drew attention to the plight of women in prison.

The theme for International Women's Day 2013 was "A promise is a promise: time for action to end violence against women."

It was reported the 70% of women worldwide experience some sort of physical and/or sexual violence in their life. Irina Bovoka, UNESCO Director General on International Women's day 2013, stated that in order "to empower women and ensure equality, we must challenge every form of violence every time it occurs." In view of the increase in violence against women and following the brutal attack on Malala Yousafzai in October 2012, the UN focussed their attention on ending violence against women and made this the central theme for International Women's Day 2013. UNESCO acknowledged that violence against young girls was one of the major reasons for girls not attending school and subsequently collaborated with governments around the globe to support women's rights in providing a quality education in a safe environment.

For a more cultural and artistic celebration, UNESCO also held a concert in Paris as a "Tribute to Women in Music: from the romantic to the electronics".

American singer Beyoncé also posted an International Women's Day video to her YouTube account. Throughout the video, her song " Flawless" plays, which includes a portion of the " We Should All Be Feminists" speech given by author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Governments and activists around the world commemorated the 20th anniversary year of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, an historic roadmap that set the agenda for realizing women's rights.

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, said: "On the occasion of International Women's Day, I extend warm greetings and good wishes to the women of India and thank them for their contributions over the years in the building of our nation." The ministry of women and child development announced the setting up of four more one-stop crisis centers on March 8, in addition to the eight already functioning across the country. Ahead of Women's Day, the national carrier Air India operated what it claimed to be the world's longest non-stop flight where the entire flight operations were handled by women, as part of International Women's Day celebrations. The flight, from Delhi to San Francisco, covered a distance of around 14,500 kilometers in around 17 hours.

In a message in support of International Women's Day, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres commented on how women's rights were being "reduced, restricted and reversed". With men still in leadership positions and a widening economic gender gap, he called for change "by empowering women at all levels, enabling their voices to be heard and giving them control over their own lives and over the future of our world".

The UN theme for International Women's Day was: "Time is Now: Rural and urban activists transforming women's lives".

Global marches and online campaigns such as #MeToo and #TimesUp, which originated in the United States but became popular globally, allowed many women from different parts of the world to confront injustice and speak out on issues such as sexual harassment and assault and the gender pay gap.

The UN theme for International Women's Day was: 'Think equal, build smart, innovate for change'. The focus of the theme was on innovative ways in which to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women, particularly in the areas of social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure.

The federal state of Berlin marked International Women's Day as a public holiday for the first time.

The UN theme for International Women's Day was: 'I am Generation Equality': Realizing Women's Rights'. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, street marches occurred in London, Paris, Madrid, Brussels, Moscow and other European cities. The Aurat March in Islamabad was marred by attacks from stone throwers, after a failed attempt to have it banned as un- Islamic. In Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, police detained dozens of marchers shortly after masked men reportedly attacked the march.

In some countries, such as Australia, Cameroon, Croatia, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Vietnam, and Chile; IWD is not an official public holiday, but is widely observed nonetheless.

Regardless of legal status, in much of the world, it is customary for men to give female colleagues and loved ones flowers and small gifts. In some countries (such as Bulgaria and Romania) it is also observed as an equivalent of Mother's Day, where children also give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers. In the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, huge Soviet-style celebrations were held annually. After the fall of Communism, the holiday, generally considered to be one of the major symbols of the old regime, fell into obscurity. International Women's Day was re-established as an official "important day" by the Parliament of the Czech Republic in 2004 on the proposal of the Social Democrats and Communists. This has provoked some controversy as a large part of the public as well as the political right see the holiday as a relic of the nation's Communist past.

IWD is widely celebrated in France as Journée internationale des femmes. In Italy, the holiday is observed by men giving yellow mimosas to women. This originated with communist politician Teresa Mattei, who chose the mimosa in 1946 as the symbol of IWD because the predominant symbols of the day, violets and lily-of-the-valley, were too scarce and expensive to be used effectively in Italy.

In the United States, actress and human rights activist Beata Pozniak worked with the Mayor of Los Angeles and the Governor of California to lobby members of the US Congress to propose official recognition of the holiday. In February 1994, by Beata Pozniak suggestion, the H. J. Res. 316 was introduced by Representative Maxine Waters, along with 79 cosponsors, in an attempt to officially recognize March 8 of that year as International Women's Day. The bill was subsequently referred to, and remained in, the House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service. No vote of either house of Congress was achieved on this piece of legislation. In Pakistan, the Aurat March has challenged misogyny since 2018.

1996

Celebrating the Past, Planning for the Future

1997

Women and the Peace Table

1998

Women and Human Rights

1999

World Free of Violence Against Women

2000

Women Uniting for Peace

2001

Women and Peace: Women Managing Conflicts

2002

Afghan Women Today: Realities and Opportunities

2003

Gender Equality and the Millennium Development Goals

2005

Gender Equality Beyond 2005; Building a More Secure Future

2006

Women in Decision-making

2007

Ending Impunity for Violence Against Women and Girls

2008

Investing in Women and Girls

2009

Women and Men United to End Violence Against Women and Girls

2010

Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress for All

2011

Equal Access to Education, Training, and Science and Technology: Pathway to Decent Work for Women

2012

Empower Rural Women, End Poverty, and Hunger

2013

A Promise is a Promise: Time for Action to End Violence Against Women

2014

Equality for Women is Progress for All

2015

Empowering Women, Empowering Humanity: Picture it!

2016

Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality

2017

Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030

2018

Time is Now: Rural and urban activists transforming women's lives

2019

Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change

2020

"I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women's Rights"

2021

Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world

Rosa Parks Day (February 4 / December 1, US)

National Girls and Women in Sports Day (one day first week of February, US)

Susan B. Anthony Day (February 15, US)

Hinamatsuri (March 3, Japan, although it is for girls)

Harriet Tubman Day (March 10, US)

Kartini Day (April 21, Indonesia)

Mother's Day

Helen Keller Day (June 27, US)

National Women's Day (South Africa) (August 9)

Women's Equality Day (August 26, US)

Nupi Lan Day (December 12, India)

1. ^

2. ""International Socialist Congress, 1910; Second International Conference of Socialist Women". p. 21.

3. ^ Cheah, S. G. (March 8, 2020). "Women In Red: The Surprising History Of International Women's Day". Evie Magazine. Archived from the original on March 9, 2020. statement made by Vladimir Lenin, who presided over the first official March 8th celebration of this day in Russia: "For under capitalism the female half of the human race is doubly oppressed. The working woman and the peasant woman are oppressed by capital [...] "The second and most important step is the abolition of the private ownership of land and the factories. This and this alone opens up the way towards complete and actual emancipation of woman

4. ^

5. ^

6. ^ Miller, Sally M. (December 1978). "From Sweatshop Worker to Labor Leader: Theresa Malkiel, A Case Study". American Jewish History. 68 (2): 197. JSTOR 23881894.

7. ^ Kaplan, Temma (1985). "On the Socialist Origins of International Women's Day". Feminist Studies. 11 (1): 163-171. doi:10.2307/3180144. JSTOR 3180144.

8. ^ Kandel, Liliane; Picq, Françoise (1982). "Le Mythe des origines à propos de la journée internationale des femmes". La Revue d'en face. 12: 67-80. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013.

9. ^ Zophy, Angela Howard (1991). Handbook of American Women's History. Garland. p. 187. ISBN 0-8240-8744-5.

10. Rochelle Goldberg Ruthchild, "From West to East: International Women's Day, the First Decade", ^ Aspasia: The International Yearbook of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern European Women's and Gender History, vol. 6 (2012): 1-24.

11. ^

12. ^ Yau Tsit Law (June-July 1927). "International Women's Day in Canton March 8, 1927". News Bulletin (Institute of Pacific Relations).

13. ^ "Iranian Women Rally to Demand Equal Social, Political Rights" Index-Journal (March 9, 2003): 9. via Newspapers.com

14. ^ "President of Indias message on the eve of International Women's Day". business-standard.com. Delhi. March 7, 2016.

15. ^ "Women's Day gift: Govt to come with 4 one-stop crisis centres". The Times of India. March 7, 2016.

16. ^ PTI (March 7, 2016). "Ahead of Women's Day, Air India operates 'world's longest all-women flight'". The Indian Express.

17. "International Women's Day: Marchers around the world call for equality". BBC News. March 8, 2020.

18. ^ "Thousands March in Spain on Women's Day Despite Coronavirus Fears". US News. Reuters. March 8, 2020.

19. ^ Azerbaijan.msntour.az Archived September 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine

20. (in Russian) ^ President's decree on public holidays in Belarus - 1998

21. (in Romanian) ^ Article 111 (1c) of the work codex of Moldova Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, PDF, page 53 "Article 111. Non-working holidays. (1) in Moldova, non-working holidays, maintaining the average salary, are: (...) c) March 8 - International Women's Day; (...)".

22. ^ Women Demand Equal Rights In Kyiv March, RFE/RL (March 8, 2018)

23. (in Croatian) ^ Zakon o blagdanima, spomendanima i neradnim danima u Republici Hrvatskoj

24. ^ "politica " Festa della donna, parla Ciampi "La parità è ancora lontana"". Repubblica.it. March 8, 2006.

25. ^ Pirro, Dierdre (March 25, 2013). "Teresa Mattei, Flower power". The Florentine. Archived from the original on October 5, 2015.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
International Women's Day ( IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 to commemorate the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of women. It is also a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Christchurch_earthquake

Biggest earthquake in New Zealand

# data[].attributes.body
Timeline....

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2019 29 December
Chinese authorities advise the WHO of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause, originating in Wuhan, Hubei province
2020 7 January
China isolates a novel coronavirus, at first called 2019-nCoV and later SARS-CoV-2
13 January
First lab-confirmed case outside China identified, in Thailand
30 January
WHO declares the epidemic a global health emergency
3 February
New Zealand temporarily bans entry of foreigners from, or who have travelled through, mainland China
3 February
Homecoming New Zealanders are exempt but must self-isolate for a fortnight
3-4 February
Government-chartered plane flies to evacuate New Zealanders from Wuhan
7 February
Ministry asks arrivals from or via China to register their 14-day self-isolation with Healthline
12 February
Disease renamed COVID-19
14 February
In New South Wales, GPs told to consider COVID-19 testing of symptomatic travellers arriving from five Asian countries other than mainland China
17 February
WHO says COVID-19 not as deadly as SARS or MERS
19 February
The 157 people evacuated to New Zealand from Wuhan are discharged from quarantine in north Auckland
20 February
Six New Zealanders enter the quarantine facility after being evacuated to New Zealand by air from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. Four New Zealanders from the ship were admitted to hospital in Japan with the virus
25 February
Daily tally of new cases outside China exceeds new cases in China for the first time
28 February
New Zealand's first confirmed case reported to Ministry of Health
28 February
Entry ban on foreigners from/via China extended to Iran. Returning New Zealanders exempt but must self-isolate
2 March
People arriving from northern Italy and South Korea must self-isolate for 14 days
2 March
Today's 24-hour tally of new cases nearly eight times higher outside mainland China than inside
3 March
WONCA Asia Pacific Regional Conference postponed. It was to have been held in Auckland in April
4 March
New Zealand's second confirmed case announced
5 March
Third confirmed case announced
6 March
Fourth confirmed case announced
7 March
Fifth confirmed case announced
11 March
WHO declares the outbreak a pandemic
11 March
Donald Trump announces suspension of travel from most European countries to US for 30 days from 13 March

New Zealand's sixth confirmed case announced
14-15 March
Case definition and access to testing widened
15 March
Announcement of seventh and eighth confirmed cases, in Wellington and Queenstown, the first two to occur outside Auckland
16 March
All passengers arriving in New Zealand, except those arriving from 17 Pacific island countries/territories, will have to self-isolate for 14 days
16 March
Government bans non-essential outdoor gatherings of 500-plus people; schools and universities exempt
17 March
Government announces $500 million in funding for health services to combat the disease, as part of $12.1 billion COVID-19 economic package
17 March
Four new cases announced. The totals now are 12 confirmed and two probable cases
18 March
Eight new cases announced - four in Auckland one in Christchurch, two in Waikato and one in Invercargill. The total is 20 confirmed; two probable
19 March
Eight new cases announced - two in Southern DHB area, two in Taranaki, one in Rotoura, two in Auckland and one in Northland. National total now 28
19 March
Government bans indoor events with more than 100 people; exemptions for workplaces, schools, supermarkets and public transport
19 March
Government advises New Zealanders not to travel overseas and urges New Zealanders who are travelling overseas to consider returning home immediately
20 March
Border closed to most foreigners. Exempted categories include essential health workers
20 March
Eleven new cases announced - five are in Auckland, two in Waikato, two in Wellington region, one in Canterbury and one in Hawke's Bay. Total is now 39 confirmed cases
21 March
Thirteen new cases announced. Total is now 52 confirmed cases and four probable cases
21 March
Alert level system announced. New Zealand is at Level 2
22 March
Fourteen new cases announced. Total now 66 confirmed cases and four probable cases
23 March
Thirty-six new cases announced. Total now 102 confirmed cases and four probable cases. Two cases of likely community spread, in Auckland and Wairarapa
23 March
Government lifts country to Alert Level 3 and announces widespread restrictions on movement will come into effect at 11.59pm on 25 March under Alert Level 4
24 March
Forty new confirmed cases announced, and three new probable cases. Ministry of Health starts announcing cumulative total of confirmed and probable cases as a combined tally, which now stands at 155
25 March
Fifty new confirmed or probable cases. Combined total is now 205
26 March
Seventy-eight new confirmed or probable cases. Combined total: 283
26 March
Case definition clarified in Auckland to include "justifiable clinical judgement"
27 March
Eighty-five new confirmed or probable cases. Combined total: 368
28 March
Eighty-three new confirmed or probable cases. Combined total 451
29 March
New Zealand's first COVID-19 death - a woman in her 70s in hospital on the West Coast. Sixty-three new confirmed or probable cases. Combined total 514
30 March
Seventy-six new confirmed cases, one of which was reclassified from probably. Combined total 589
31 March
Fifty-eight new confirmed or probable cases. Combined total 647. Case definition widened: recent overseas travel/case contact dropped
1 April
Sixty-one new confirmed or probable cases. Combined total 708
2 April
Eighty-nine new confirmed or probable cases. Combined total 797
3 April
Seventy-one new confirmed or probable cases. Combined total 868
4 April
Eight-two new confirmed or probable cases. Combined total 950
5 April
Eighty-nine new confirmed or probable cases. Combined total 1039
6 April
Sixty-seven new confirmed or probabe cases. Combined total 1106
7 April
Fifty-four new confirmed or probable cases. Combined total 1160
8 April
Fifty new confirmed or probable cases. Combined total 1210
9 April
Twenty-nine new confirmed or probable cases. Combined total 1239
10 April
Second New Zealand death reported, a woman in her 90s who died at Burwood Hospital in Christchurch on 9 April. Forty-four new comfirmed or probable cases. Combined total 1283
11 April
Two new deaths, bringing the total of deaths to four. Twenty-nine new confirmed or probable cases. Combined total 1312
12 April
Eighteen new confirmed or probable cases. Combined case total: 1330
13 April
One new death. Deaths total: five. Nineteen new confirmed or probable cases. Combined case total: 1349
14 April
Four new deaths. Deaths total: nine. Seventeen new confirmed or probable cases. Combined case total: 1366
15 April
Deaths total remains nine. Twenty new confirmed or probable cases. Combined case total: 1386
16 April
Fifteen new confirmed or probable cases. Combined case total: 1401
17 April
Eight new confirmed or probable cases. Combined case total: 1409
18 April
Thirteen new confirmed or probable cases. Combined total: 1422
19 April
One new death reported. Total deaths: 12. Nine new confirmed or probable cases. Combined case total: 1431
20 April
Nine new confirmed or probable cases. Combined case total: 1440
21 April
One new death. Total deaths: 13. Nine new confirmed or probable cases. Combined total: 1445
22 April
One new death. Total deaths: 14. Six new confirmed or probable cases. Combined total: 1451. However, three of these cases were removed, pending further inquiries, on 23 April, because they may have been counted in reporting to the WHO by Uruguay, from where these three people returned to New Zealand. Revised case total: 1448
23 April
Two new deaths. Total deaths: 16. Three new confirmed or probable cases. Combined total: 1451
24 April
One new death. Total deaths: 17. Five new confirmed or probable cases. Combined total: 1456
25 April
One new death. Total deaths: 18. Five new confirmed or probable cases. Combined total: 1461
26 April
Nine new confirmed or probable cases. Combined total: 1470
27 April
One new death. Total deaths: 19. Five new confirmed or probable cases, and six probable cases reclassified as not a case or under investigation. Combined total down one to 1469. Alert Level reduced from 4 to 3 at 11.59pm
28 April
Three new confirmed or probable cases. Combined total: 1472
29 April
Two new confirmed or probable cases, and one probable case reclassified as confirmed. Combined total: 1474
30 April
Three new confirmed cases, and one probable case reclassified as not a case. Combined total: 1476
1 May
Three new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1479

2 May

One new death. Total deaths: 20. Six new confirmed or probable cases. Combined total of cases: 1485
3 May
Two new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1487
4 May
No new cases. One probable case reclassified as a confirmed case. Combined total remains 1487
5 May
No new cases. One previously reported probable case reclassified as not a case. Combined total confirmed/probable down one to 1486
6 May
One new confirmed case and one new probable case. Combined total: 1488
7 May
One new confirmed case. Combined total of confirmed and probable cases: 1489
8 May
One new confirmed case. One probable case reclassified as confirmed. Combined total: 1490
9 May
One new confirmed and one new probable case. Combined total: 1492
10 May
Two new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1494
11 May
Three new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1497
12 May
No new cases. Combined total of confirmed and probable cases: 1497
13 May
No new cases. In stages over the coming days, New Zealand moves from Alert Level 3 to 2 from 11.59pm
14 May
No new cases
15 May
One new confirmed case. Combined total of confirmed and probable cases: 1498
16 May
No new cases
17 May
One new confirmed case. Combined total of confirmed and probable cases: 1499
18 May
No new cases
19 May
No new cases, but four confirmed cases are added to the total who tested positive in Uruguay before returning to New Zealand in April. Uruguay did not report those cases to the WHO. Combined New Zealand total of confirmed and probable cases: 1503
20 May
No new cases
21 May
No new cases
22 May
One new case. Combined total of confirmed and probable cases: 1504
23-27 May
No new cases
28 May
One new death, bringing the death toll to 22. No new cases
29 May - 7 June
No new cases
8 June
New Zealand now has no active cases. The last remaining case has been symptom-free for 48 hours, is regarded as recovered and has been released from isolation.
8 June
New Zealand steps down to Alert Level 1 from 11.59pm
16 June
Two new confirmed cases. Combined total of confirmed and probable cases: 1506
18 June
One new confirmed case. Combined total of confirmed and probable cases: 1507
20 June
Two new confirmed cases. Combined total of confirmed and probable cases: 1509
21 June
Two new confirmed cases. Combined total of confirmed and probable cases: 1511
22 June
Two new confirmed cases. Combined total of confirmed and probable cases: 1513
23 June
Two new confirmed cases. Combined total of confirmed and probable cases: 1515
24 June
One new confirmed case. Combined total of confirmed and probable cases: 1516
25 June
Three new confirmed cases. Combined total of confirmed and probable cases: 1519
26 June
One new confirmed case. Combined total: 1520
27 June
Two new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1522
28 June
Four new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1526
29 June
Two new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1528. New Zealand has 22 active cases, all recently returned from overseas
2 July
Two new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1530. Health minister David Clark resigns; replaced by Chris Hipkins
3 July
Details of a number of COVID-19 cases are leaked by Michelle Boag to National MP Hamish Walker, who leaks them to media; he later says he will not seek re-election
5 July
Three new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1533
6 July
1 New confirmed case. Combined total: 1534
7 July
Two new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1536
8 July
One new confirmed case. Combined total: 1537. A man absconds from managed isolation in Auckland for more than an hour and tests positive
9 July
Three new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1540
10 July
Two new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1542
11 July
One new confirmed case. Combined total: 1543
12 July
One new confirmed ase: Combined total: 1544
14 July
One new confirmed case. Combined total: 1545
15 July
Two new confirmed cases: Combined total: 1547
16 July
One new confirmed case: Combined total: 1548
17 July
One new confirmed case: Combined total: 1549
18 July
One new confirmed case: Combined total: 1550
19 July
Three new confirmed cases: Combined total: 1553
20 July
One new confirmed case: Combined total: 1554
21 July
ONe new confirmed case: Combined total: 1555
24 July
One new confirmed case. Combined total: 1556
24 July
Five people abscond from a managed isolation facility, making a total of eight who have done so
28 July
One new confirmed case. Combined total: 1557
29 July
Two new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1559
30 July
One new confirmed case. Combined total: 1560
1 August
Two new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1562
2 August
Three new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1565
3 August
Two new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1567
5 August
Two new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1569
11 August
Five new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1574. Four of the new cases are in the community, in Auckland, and do not have a known source. It has been 102 days since the last case that was acquired locally from an unknown source.
12 August
Auckland goes into Alert Level 3 lockdown from midday, until midnight on 14 August. The rest of New Zealand goes into level 2 for that period.
12 August
One new confirmed case in managed isolation, and four new probable cases in the Auckland community outbreak. Combined total: 1579
13 August
Fourteen new confirmed cases and four probable cases reclassified. Combined total: 1589
14 August
Twelve new confirmed cases and one probable case. Combined total: 1602. Current alert levels to be extended
15 August
Seven new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1609
16 August
Thirteen new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1622
17 August
Nine new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1631
18 August
Thirteen new confirmed cases and one probable case reclassified as under investigation. Combined total: 1643
19 August
Six new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1649
20 August
Five new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1654
21 August
Eleven new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1665
22 August
Six new confirmed cases. Combined total 1671
23 August
Three new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1674
24 August
Eight new confirmed and one new probable case. Combined total: 1683
25 August
Seven new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1690
26 August
Five new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1695
27 August
Seven new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1702
28 August
Twelve new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1714
29 August
Thirteen new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1727
30 August
Two new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1729. Auckland steps down to Alert Level 2 at 11.59pm, informally called "level 2.5" because of smaller permitted gathering sizes than the rest of the country
31 August
Nine new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1738
1 September
Fourteen new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1752
2 September
Five new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1757
3 September
Two new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1759
4 September
One death, bringing the total number of deaths to 23. Five new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1764
5 September
One new death, bringing the total number of deaths to 24. Three new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1767
6 September
Five new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1772
7 September
Four new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1776
8 September
Six new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1782
9 September
Six new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1788
10 September
Four new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1792
11 September
One new confirmed case. Combined total: 1793
12 September
Two new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1795
13 September
Two new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1797
14 September
One new confirmed case. Combined total: 1798
15 September
Three new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1801
16 September
One new death, bringing the total number of deaths to 25. One new confirmed case. Combined total of cases: 1802
17 September
Seven new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1809
19 September
Two new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1811
20 September
Four new confirmed cases. Combined total: 1815
21 September
New Zealand, except Auckland, moves to Alert Level 1 at 11.59pm
2021 13 February
One new death, in North Shore Hospital yesterday following their being transferred from managed isolation, bringing the number of deaths to 26.
14 February
Auckland put into Alert Level 3 lockdown at 11.59pm and the rest of the country is raised to level 2 - initially for three days - after three cases are detected in the community in south Auckland. They are a Papatoetoe High School student and her parents. Also, one new case in managed isolation
15 February
Five new cases in managed isolation, one of which is an historical case. The first two Papatoetoe-related cases, reported yesterday, are the UK variant
17 February
Two new cases in the community, both linked to the 14 February cluster. New Zealand has had 2340 cases (combined total of confirmed and probable), including 26 deaths
17 February
A third new community case reported for the day, making six in total so far in the south Auckland cluster; and one case in managed isolation
18 February
Auckland drops to Alert Level 2, from 3 (with specific restrictions for the Papatoetoe High School community until 22 February), and the rest of the country to level 1, from 2
18 February
Three new cases in managed isolation
19 February
One new case, making seven in the Papatoetoe-related cluster; and three in managed isolation, one of which is historical
19 February
New Zealand's first vaccination against COVID-19, using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Comirnaty. Vaccinators are the first recipients
20 February
Two new cases in managed isolation
20 February
Vaccination of border workers begins
21 February
One new case in managed isolation
22 February
One new community case, in the Papatoetoe-related cluster; and six new cases in managed isolation, four of which are historical
23 February
Three new cases in the Papatoetoe-related cluster (now 11 in total), and five in managed isolation. Auckland (except Papatoetoe High School community) drops to level 1
24 February
Two new cases in managed isolation
25 February
Three new cases in managed isolation
26 February
Two new cases in managed isolation; and one new case in the Papatoetoe-related cluster (now 12 in total)
27 February
One new case in managed isolation; and two new cases in the Papatoetoe-related cluster (now 14 in total)
28 February
Two new cases in managed isolation; one new case in the Papatoetoe-related cluster (now 15 in total). Auckland goes into level 3 lockdown at 6am, level 2 elsewhere
1 March
One new case in managed isolation
2 March
Four new cases in managed isolation
3 March
Two new cases in managed isolation
4 March
Six new cases in managed isolation
6 March
Nine new cases in managed isolation
7 March
At 6am, Auckland drops to level 2, from 3, and the rest of the country to level 1, from 2
7 March
One new case in managed isolation and one border-related case, an airline crew member who had been in the Auckland community before testing positive
8 March
Five new cases in managed isolation
9 March
Four new cases in managed isolation, one of which is historical
10 March
One new case in managed isolation
11 March
Six new cases in managed isolation
12 March
At midday, Auckland drops to Alert Level 1.
12 March
One new case in managed isolation
13 March
Three new cases in managed isolation and two historical cases
14 March
One new case in managed isolation
15 March
Seven new cases in managed isolation
16 March
Two new cases in managed isolation
17 March
Three new cases in managed isolation
19 March
Ten new cases in managed isolation since 17 March
21 March
Eight new cases in managed isolation since 19 March
22 March
Eight new cases in managed isolation, one historical case and one case involving a managed-isolation facility worker at the Grand Millennium Hotel in Auckland
23 March
A household contact of yesterday's MIF case returns a "weak positive" result. Also, three new cases are reported in managed isolation, plus a historical case
24 March
Three new cases in managed isolation. Yesterday's "weak positive" case has been retested: they were negative on PCR analysis and for blood serology and the person is now considered to have had a fleeting infection or a false positive
25 March
Six new cases in managed isolation. Also, a genomic link has been found between two cases with the UK variant at Grand Mercure managed isolation facilitiy in Auckland. They were recent returnees staying in rooms on separate floors of the hotel and had arrived on separate flights, within two days of each other. Additional testing was implemented at the facility and 250 returnees who had left since 10 March were to be asked to get tested and isolate at home until receiving a negative result
26 March
Three new cases in managed isolation. Around 10,000 people in New Zealand have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine and around 40,000 have received one dose
27 March
One new case in managed isolation and one historical case
28 March
One new case in managed isolation
29 March
Eleven new cases in managed isolation
30 March
Two new cases in managed isolation
31 March
Two new cases in managed isolation
1 April
Five new cases in managed isolation. A previously reported positive case has been reclassified as a historical infection which has been reported in the person's home country and removed from New Zealand's tally
4 April
Six new cases in managed isolation
6 April
Seventeen new cases, over two days, in managed isolation
7 April
Seven new cases in managed isolation
8 April
One new case, "B", in a border-related worker at the Grand Millennium managed isolation facility; and 23 new cases in recently arrived travellers in managed isolation, four of which are cases of historical infection
9 April
Six new cases in managed isolation
10 April
Ten new cases in managed isolation
11 April
Four new cases. Three are travellers in managed isolation. The fourth is case C, the fourth case in the Grand Millennium cluster, who is a worker there and a close contact of case B reported on 8 April. Case A is a cleaner at the hotel who returned a positive result on 21 March (reported 22 March). The viruses in A and B have been genomically linked and have in turn been linked to a traveller who arrived on 13 March
11 April
Temporary ban comes into effect on travellers, including New Zealand citizens and residents, coming from India, until 28 April
12 April
Seven new cases in managed isolation and one historical case. Genome sequencing shows the virus in case C of the Grand Millennium cluster is closely related to the virus in A and B
13 April
Four new cases in managed isolation
14 April
Two new cases in managed isolation
15 April
Two new cases in managed isolation
16 April
One new case in managed isolation
18 April
Four new cases and one historical case in managed isolation. The total number of confirmed cases is 2239.
19 April
Trans-Tasman quarantine-free travel bubble starts. Two new cases in managed isolation
20 April
One new case, a border worker (a cleaner) at Auckland Airport, and one historical case
21 April
One new case in managed isolation. Separately, genome sequencing has linked yesterday's border-worker case to a case who arrived in New Zealand on 10 April
23 April
Government announces travel restrictions from countries in the new "very-high-risk" category, defined as more than 50 cases of COVID-19 per 1000 arrivals to New Zealand from those countries this year. India, Brazil, Papua New Guinea and Pakistan meet the threshold. From 11.59pm, 28 April, travellers from those countries will be temporarily restricted to New Zealand citizens, their partners and children, and parents of children who are New Zealand citizens.
22 April
Three new cases in managed isolation
24 April
Two new cases in managed isolation. Quarantine-free travel between Western Australia and New Zealand has been suspended because Perth and the outer-metropolitan area of Peel have been placed in a three-day lockdown
27 April
Eight new cases in managed isolation
28 April
New Zealand resumes quarantine-free travel with Western Australia, except for close contacts. Two new cases in managed isolation
29 April
Three new cases in managed isolation
1 May
Direct flights from Western Australia paused
2 May
Four new cases in managed isolation. Flights from Western Australia resume
3 May
Four new cases in managed isolation
4 May
One new case in managed isolation
5 May
Three new cases and three historical cases in recent returnees in managed isolation
6 May
One new case and three potential historical cases in managed isolation. Quarantine-free travel "paused" with New South Wales while the source of two community cases in Sydney is investigated
8 May
Three new cases and three historical cases, all in managed isolation
9 May
Two new cases in managed isolation. Travel "pause" with New South Wales ends at 11.59pm
10 May
Two new historical cases in managed isolation, and one previously reported (on 6 May) case now deemed historical
12 May
One new case in managed isolation
13 May
One new case in managed isolation
14 May
One historical case in managed isolation
16 May
One new case in managed isolation
16 May
Two weak positive results were returned from wastewater testing at Moa Point, Wellington on 14 and 15 May, which were probably from recently recovered cases continuing to shed virus
17 May
Five new cases in managed isolation
18 May
One new case in managed isolation and one historical case
18 May
First flight to Cook Islands after two-way quarantine-free travel was permitted from 17 May
19 May
Six new cases in managed isolation
19 May
Weak positive results have been returned from wastewater samples at Porirua and Karori in Wellington on 16 May, probably from recently recovered cases continuing to shed virus
20 May
One new case in managed isolation
20 May
Health Ministry says weak positive results have been returned recently from wastewater testing in Wellington, Christchurch, Rotorua and Queenstown
21 May
Three new cases in managed isolation
23 May
Six new cases in managed isolation
24 May
Four new cases in managed isolation
25 May
Two new cases in managed isolation
25 May
Quarantine-free travel with Victoria paused, initially for 72 hours, from 7.59pm, while the source of five community cases in Melbourne is investigated
27 May
One new case in managed isolation
27 May
Victoria travel-bubble pause extended to 7.59pm on 4 June. Around 5000 people have recently arrived in New Zealand from Victoria and they must self-quarantine in their home or accommodation until they return a negative test result. Victoria has imposed a seven-day lockdown. Its outbreak has expanded to 26 cases in the community
30 May
Two new cases in managed isolation
31 May
One new case in managed isolation
2 June
Six new cases in managed isolation
3 June
One new case and one historical case in managed isolation
3 June
Pause in quarantine-free travel with Victoria extended to 11.59pm on 10 June

One new case in managed isolation
6 June
One new case in managed isolation
8 June
Ten new cases in managed isolation
8 June
Government says Pfizer has scheduled delivery of around 1 million vaccine doses to New Zealand in July. This follows an earlier statement that stocks would run low in June
9 June
Two new cases in managed isolation and two cases deemed historical
10 June
One new case in managed isolation. Pause in quarantine-free travel with Victoria extended for seven days
11 June
Five new cases in managed isolation
13 June
Four new cases and two historical cases, all in managed isolation
14 June
One new case in managed isolation
15 June
One historical case reported
16 June
Two new cases in managed isolation
17 June
Two new cases in managed isolation. Confirmed cases total now stands at 2357. Infection scare at Stewart Island after a child returned an indeterminate result

Halt on quarantine-free travel bubble with Victoria continues until 22 June. NZ health officials assess risk posed by quarantine-free travel with New South Wales and decide not to halt that bubble

Government announces timing of vaccination for priority group 4: over-60s to be offered vaccination from 28 July and over-55s from 11 August; over-45s to receive invitations from mid to late August and over-35s from mid to late September; and everyone else being eligible from October. People will be asked to use the Book My Vaccine online booking system, or can phone a new national vaccination booking call centre
18 June
One new case in managed isolation. The Stewart Island child is thought not to have had active COVID infection, after the swab returned a positive result for rhinovirus, and COVID testing of the family and community returned negative results
20 June
Four new cases in managed isolation
21 June
Three new cases in managed isolation

Medsafe approves extension of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine indications to ages 12-15
22 June
Quarantine-free travel bubble with New South Wales paused at 11.59pm until 25 June after 10 new community cases reported in the Australian state, taking the recent tally linked to the community cluster to 21

Quarantine-free travel bubble with Victoria to resume at 11.59, following NZ health officials' assessment of the risk from Victoria being low

In New Zealand, 410,973 scans of the COVID Tracer app have been completed in the past 24 hours
23 June
Wellington region put into Alert Level 2 at 6pm following the visit of an Australian man who tested positive after returning to Sydney. The man was in Wellington from 19 to 21 June and was likely to have contracted the virus in Sydney before his visit

Four new cases in managed isolation; none in the community
24 June
New South Wales bubble pause extended to 11.59pm on 6 July

COVID Tracer app scans up: 571,514 in past 24 hours
25 June
Two new cases in managed isolation; no community cases.

COVID Tracer app scans up again: 894,288 in past 24 hours
26 June
Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 confirmed in Sydney man who visited Wellington.

Travel bubble with all Australian states and territories paused at 10.30pm, until 11.59pm on 29 June, because of multiple outbreaks in Australia posing an increasing risk to New Zealand.

Four new cases in managed isolation; no community cases.

COVID Tracer app scans in past 24 hours: 958,732
27 June
Alert Level 2 extended in Wellington region until 11.59pm on 29 June, which will be 6-1/4 days in total.

One new case in managed isolation.

So far, 2444 people have been identified as contacts of the Sydney Delta case who visited Wellington.

A person who returned an indeterminate COVID-19 test result later tests negative and is stated not to have active infection
28 June
Government has sought advice on making COVID Tracer app scanning compulsory in high-risk locations, such as bars, restaurants and churches.

Government is considering making mask use compulsory at Alert Level 2 or higher in certain high-risk locations, such as indoor events, places of worship and retail outlets.

Ten new cases in managed isolation; none in the community
29 June
Wellington region to return to Alert Level 1, from 2, at 11.59pm.

Travel bubble pause with Australia extended to 11.59pm on 4 July, after which the bubble will reopen with South Australia, ACT, Tasmania and Victoria. Bubble pause with Western Australia, Northern Territory, New South Wales and Queensland will be reviewed again on Tuesday 6 July.
30 June
One new case in managed isolation
1 July
One new case in managed isolation
2 July
Two new cases and one historical case in managed isolation
4 July
Seven new cases in managed isolation. Two other cases, previously reported as under investigation, have been reclassified as historical

The partial re-opening of the travel bubble with Australia, announced on 29 June, took effect today
5 July
Seven new cases in managed isolation

A shipment containing 150,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, New Zealand's largest shipment yet, arrived by plane in Auckland yesterday. Until the shipment's arrival, DHBs only had enough stock to last until 7 July

Travel bubble with Western Australia and Northern Territory to resume from 11.59pm on 9 July. From the same time, "managed return" flights will start from New South Wales and Queensland for people ordinarily resident in New Zealand
6 July
One new case in managed isolation. COVID Tracer app scans per 24 hours have dropped back down to 657,345

Two new cases in mariners. The two flew into Auckland yesterday with seven other mariners. All nine were tested at Auckland Airport and driven to New Plymouth, where they went to sea in a fishing boat, the Viking Bay, in which they are now isolating in international waters. Two port workers and the driver have been identified as contacts and they are in isolation.
7 July
Three new cases in managed isolation

The Viking Bay is returning to port, where the two cases and 13 other crew will disembark to enter managed isolation and quarantine. The three close contacts - a bus driver, a port pilot and a customs officer - are fully vaccinated and wore PPE when interacting with any of the nine newly arrived mariners. The mariners had arrived in Auckland on a "red" flight, from which everyone, as required by red-flight rules, is in managed isolation. Everyone on the flight, except the two cases, has tested negative.

Pause on travel bubble with Queensland and New South Wales to continue.
8 July
One new case in managed isolation

The Viking Bay's crew size is now reported by the Health Ministry as 20, of whom 15 will enter an MIQ facility once the boat docks. Where it will dock is today uncertain. A second foreign-owned fishing vessel has declared flu-like symptoms on board and has asked to dock in New Zealand
9July
One historical case in managed isolation

Managed return flights start from Queensland
11 July
Three new cases in managed isolation
12July
One new case in managed isolation

The Viking Bay has docked in Wellington as a quarantined vessel and a fence has been erected. Thirteen of the crew of 20 will transfer to a Wellington quarantine facility

Quarantine-free travel (QFT) from New South Wales remains on hold. Managed return flights from Sydney begin tomorrow, with travellers having to go into 14 days of managed isolation on return. QFT from Queensland to resume at 11.59 tonight.

Vaccination made compulsory for more border workers
13 July
Five new cases in managed isolation

Positive COVID-19 tests returned by 15 Viking Bay crew. The 15 have been transferred to an on-shore quarantine facility in Wellington. Five crew who remain on the ship have returned negative test results

Start of managed return flights, followed by 14 days' managed isolation, for New Zealanders returning from Sydney

Spanish-flagged fishing boat Playa Zahara berthed at Port Taranaki today. Crew being tested following reports of flu-like illness on board
14 July
Four new cases in managed isolation

Last night, one of the five crew on the Viking Bay became unwell and was transferred to on-shore quarantine, despite a previous negative test.

One Playa Zahara crew member, who has returned an indeterminate test result, remains symptomatic
15 July
Five new cases in managed isolation.

Of the 18 crew of Playa Zahara, 16 have tested positive.

The latest mariner transferred to shore quarantine from Viking Bay has returned a second negative test.

The first infringement notices for border workers who have not complied with COVID-19 testing requirements have been issued. Eighteen notices were issued.
16July
Five new cases and four new historical cases in managed isolation.

Thirteen of the crew of the Playa Zahara, docked at Lyttelton, are to be moved to shore quarantine in Christchurch, leaving five on board.

Quarantine-free travel from Victoria paused from 1.59pm
18 July
Ten new cases in managed isolation, including three of the four remaining crew on board the quarantined Viking Bay in Wellington; and two historical cases.

Playa Zahara arrives at Lyttelton and is quarantined; 13 crew members taken to shore isolation, with five to remain on board.
19 July
Marshall Island-flagged container ship the Mattina, which arrived at Bluff last night, is quarantined there. Two of its 21 crew have tested positive.

Three new cases in managed isolation

More than 370,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the largest shipment to New Zealand so far, arrived yesterday, two days early.
20 July
Seven more positive cases on the quarantined ship Mattina, bringing the total to nine.

Six new border-related cases. (Three of those are on the Mattina. The other six Mattina cases are not yet included in the Health Ministry's daily case tally update.)

Quarantine-free travel from South Australia paused at 11.59pm. People who ordinarily live in New Zealand will be allowed to come home on managed return flights
21 July
Six Mattina cases added to the Health Ministry's daily case tally update. Two cases from the ship, quarantined at Bluff, taken to hospital for assessment
22 July
Three new cases and one historical case in managed isolation.

Three new cases on the Mattina, bringing the total there to 12. One more potential case is under investigation and three of the crew have serological evidence of past infection
23 July
Nineteen new cases, all of them mariners already in isolation; plus one historical case in managed isolation.

Sixteen of the mariner cases are crew of the Playa Zahara and three are from the Mattina

Quarantine-free travel to New Zealand from anywhere in Australia to be suspended from 11.59 tonight for at least eight weeks. Managed return flights will fly New Zealanders home for the next seven days.

SARS-CoV-2 detected in New Plymouth wastewater by ESR testing is thought to be from recently recovered cases continuing to shed the virus.
24 July
Three new cases and two historical cases in managed isolation.
25 July
Two new cases in managed isolation.

Two historical cases in Playa Zahara crew members.
26 July
Three historical cases in managed isolation.
27 July
One new case in managed isolation

All Playa Zahara crew members have recovered. The vessel was deep-cleaned on Friday and is expected to leave Lyttelton tomorrow

Fourteen of the 20 Viking Bay crew are back on the vessel in Wellington; six remain ashore in managed isolation
28 July
One new case in managed isolation

PM Jacinda Ardern says that from today those aged 60-plus will start receiving invitations to book their vaccination at bookmyvaccine.org.nz or through the COVID Vaccination Healthline
29 July
Around 165,000 peple aged 60-64 were sent vaccination booking invitations yesterday by letter, email or text and 105,811 bookings were made.

Five new cases in managed isolation.

The Playa Zahara has left Lyttelton, after all crew had recovered.
30 July
A Middlemore Hospital health worker is in precautionary quarantine after a minor PPE protocol breach during management of a COVID-19 case

Two new cases and one historical case in managed isolation.
1 August
Four new cases and one historical case in managed isolation.
2 August
Four new cases in managed isolation.

The Viking Bay is expected to leave Wellington today, with all its 20 crew.
3 August
One historical case in managed isolation.
4 August
Two new cases in managed isolation. Two historical cases at the border.
5 August
One new case in managed isolation.
6 August
One new case and one historical case in managed isolation.

Vaccination bookings open for people aged 55-59.
8 August
Five new cases and one historical case in managed isolation.
9 August
Two new cases and two historical cases in managed isolation.

Positive test results have been returned by 11 of the 21 crew on container ship the Rio De La Plata, which is off Tauranga. Some of the 11 cases are expected to be active and others historical and no longer infectious. None have symptoms and none left the ship when it was at Port of Tauranga. A pilot was on the ship in Queensland last month and tested positive for Delta variant nine days later. This temporarily halted unloading at Tauranga on 4 August, until an assessment cleared the vessel for the work to resume on 5 August. More than 90 port workers have been tested.
10 August
Three new cases in managed isolation.

From 110 tests taken, negative results have been returned from 109 workers at the Port of Tauranga following the identification of cases on the Rio De La Plata, which visited the port. One worker is being retested following an inconclusive result. The Health Ministry says 72 port workers had boarded the ship (updated to 73 on 12 August).

Later, a retest of the port worker whose initial result was inconclusive produced a negative result.
11 August
Two new cases in managed isolation.

Rio De La Plata has left New Zealand waters bound for Malaysia. Eight of the 11 COVID-positive crew have Delta variant; genome-sequencing results for three failed to return a result. The sequencing results are linked to the Queensland marine pilot, whom ESR now thinks most likely was infected from the ship.
12 August
Eight new cases and one historical case in managed isolation.

All Port of Tauranga workers associated with Rio De La Plata have returned at least one negative test.
13 August
One new case in managed isolation
15 August
Four new cases and two historical cased in managed isolation.
16 August
Five new cases and two historical cases in managed isolation
17 August
A case of COVID-19 has been detected in the community in Auckland. No link has been established with the border or managed isolation. The last case in the community in New Zealand was from 19 to 21 June when an Australian, who was later found most likely to had the infection before leaving Sydney, visited Wellington, leading to the Wellington region going into Alert Level 2.

The new case is a 58-year-old Devonport man who was tested yesterday and is thought to have been infectious since Thursday 12 August and visited Coromandel from 13 to 15 August.

There were 524,585 scans of the COVID Tracer app in the past 24 hours to midday yesterday.

An Alert Level 4 lockdown will apply from 11..59pm in Auckland and Coromandel for seven days and in the rest of the country for three days.

Vaccination has been suspended for up to two days.
18 August
Four new cases. One is a workmate of "case A", the 58-year-old Devonport man, and three are contacts of the workmate. Of the three, one is an Auckland City Hospital nurse. Case A's virus is Delta variant and linked to cases in New South Wales.

In a second update today, two new cases have been reported, aged 19 and 21, bringing the community outbreak's total to seven. In managed isolation, three new cases have been reported.

A third update: There are three more Auckland community cases, two of them in their 20s and with links to the outbreak, bringing its total to nine, and a woman in her 60s whose virus is linked to the border. Interviews are underway to determine if her virus is also linked to the outbreak.
19 August
Eleven new community cases, for a total of 21, of which 12 are confirmed as part of the outbreak, with eight under investigation for a link. The woman in her 60s reported yesterday is not considered part of the outbreak. The viruses in the outbreak and in a traveller who was on a red zone managed return flight from Sydney are a close genomic match.

There are also six new cases and two historical cases in managed isolation.

There were 758,658 COVID Tracer app scans in the 24 hours to midday yesterday.
20 August
A North Shore Hospital patient has tested positive for COVID-19 after having been admitted for an unrelated condition. The Waitematā DHB has closed the hospital and the DHB's Short Stay Surgical Unit. Incoming patients are being diverted to other hospitals while the affected areas are given a deep clean.

Health Ministry reports 11 new community cases, of which three are in Wellington, for a total of 31 associated with the Auckland outbreak. The three Wellington cases had recently travelled to Auckland and visited a location of interest. The international Air New Zealand crew member, the woman in her 60s reported yesterday, has now been confirmed as a border-related case, and not linked to the Auckland outbreak, based on the results of whole genome sequencing.

Two new cases in managed isolation today.

Alert Level change: All of New Zealand will be in Alert Level 4 until 11.59pm on Tuesday 24 August.

People aged 12-15 now eligible for vaccination with Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine
21 August
Twenty-one new community cases, for a total of 51, of which 18 are in Auckland and three in Wellington. One of the new Wellington cases was also reported yesterday. Three new cases in managed isolation. Testing reached a new record yesterday, with 41,464 swabs processed. In Auckland, 31,000 swabs were taken, nearly 10,000 of them at community testing centres and around 21,000 at general practices and urgent care clinics. North Shore Hospital ED remains closed to new cases.

22August
Twenty-one new community cases, for a total of 72, of which 20 are in Auckland and one in Wellington. The Wellington case was also reported yesterday. All but 11 of the 72 cases have been confirmed as belonging to the Auckland cluster, with initial assessment showing most of the 11 are linked too. Three new cases in managed isolation.

Government announces it will require businesses and events to ensure visitors record their visits by using the COVID-19 Tracer App or by making a manual record. Click on this link for details: https://tinyurl.com/wfm9v3ku
23 August
Thirty-five new community cases, for a total of 107, of which 33 are in Auckland and two in Wellington. Three new cases in managed isolation.

Alert Level change: Alert Level 4 will be extended in Auckland until 11.59pm on Tuesday 31 August, and in the rest of the country until 11.59pm on Friday 27 August.
24 August
Forty-one new community cases, for a total of 148, of which 38 are in Auckland and three in Wellington. One new case in managed isolation. The largest cluster in what is now called the Auckland outbreak is the 58 cases associated with the Māngere Assembly of God church, people who either attended a particular service there or were their contacts; followed by the "Birkdale social group" of about 23 cases.
25 August
Sixty-two new community cases, for a total of 210, of which 198 are in Auckland and 12 in Wellington. Forty of the new cases are Pasifika, three are Māori, seven are Asian, five are European and the ethnicity of seven is currently unknown to health officials. A second sample of sewage, collected from the Warkworth catchment on 22 August, has tested positive for COVID-19 genomically linked to the outbreak, following a positive from 17 August and a negative from 21 August. One new case in managed isolation.
26 August
Sixty-eight new community cases, for a total of 277, of which 263 are in Auckland and 14 in Wellington. COVID-19 has been detected in Christchurch sewage sampling on 21 and 23 August; this is considered consistent with there being at least three positive cases in MIQ facilities in the city. There are 24,402 contacts, of whom 71 per cent have been tested. Nearly 500 locations of interest have been listed. Vaccination: 87,972 doses administered yesterday, a new record. There were 743,324 COVID Tracer App scans in the 24 hours to midday yesterday.
27 August
Seventy new community cases, for a total of 347, 333 of them in Auckland and 14 in Wellington. One case is in ICU in a stable condition, among 19 cases in hospital, all in Auckland. Amberlea Home and Hospital in north Auckland is listed as an exposure site after a dementia unit staff member returned a positive test result. National hospital occupancy rates are about 75 per cent. Vaccination: another record day yesterday, reaching 90,757 doses administered.
28 August
Eighty-two new community cases, for a total of 429; and one new case in managed isolation.
29 August
Eighty-three new community cases, for a total of 511 in the community outbreak; and two new cases in managed isolation.
30 August
Fifty-three new community cases, all in Auckland, for a total of 564 in the outbreak so far. Two cases have recovered, leaving 562 active cases. Thiry-seven cases are in hospital; all are stable - 32 on a ward and five in an ICU. Of today's new cases, 66 per cent were household contacts of cases, and 77 per cent did not create new exposure events.

One new case and one historical case in managed isolation.

The COVID-19 Vaccine Independent Safety Monitoring Board considers the death of a woman following vaccination with Comirnaty was due to myocarditis, a known rare side effect of the vaccine. The board considered that the myocarditis was probably due to vaccination.
31 August
Forty-nine new community cases, minus one previous case now reclassified as border-related, for an outbreak total of 612. All the new community cases are in Auckland. There are 34,413 contacts and 389 locations of interest.

One new case in managed isolation. The number of confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic is 3212.

Alert Level change: New Zealand other than Auckland and Northland drop from level 4 to level 3 at 11.59 tonight.
1 September
Seventy-five new community cases, for an outbreak total of 687. One of the new cases is in Wellington, the rest in Auckland. One new case in managed isolation.
2 September
Forty-nine new community cases, for an outbreak total of 736. The number of contacts has risen to 37,359. Four new cases in managed isolation.

Alert Level change: Northland's move to level 3 at 11.59 tonight has been confirmed.
3 September
Twenty-eight community cases, for an outbreak total of 764. One of the new cases is in Wellington, the rest in Auckland. Four new cases in managed isolation.
4 September
One new death - a woman aged in her 90s who had a number of underlying conditions, in North Shore Hospital last night - bringing New Zealand's COVID-19 death toll to 27.

Twenty new community cases, for an outbreak total of 782. Two new cases in managed isolation.
5 September
Twenty new community cases. Outbreak total: 801. Four new cases in managed isolation and one historical case.
6 September
Twenty new community cases. Outbreak total: 821. Three new cases in managed isolation and one historical case.
7 September
Twenty-one new community cases. Outbreak total: 841 (one previously reported case has been reclassified as a duplicate).

Alert Level change: At 11.59 tonight, New Zealand except Auckland drops from level 3 to a revised level 2. It is being called level 2 "Delta", with new mask and sign-in/app-scan requirements at many places attended by the public, a reduction in group sizes and an expansion of social distancing.
8 September
Fifteen new community cases. Outbreak total: 855 (one previously reported community case has been reclassified as a border case). One new case in managed isolation. There were 1,018,481 poster scans with the COVID-19 Tracer App in the 24 hours to midday yesterday.
9 September
Thirteen new community cases. Outbreak total: 868. Two new and three historical border-related cases. Today's community case total includes a case reported on Tuesday as one that was yet to be classified; it has now been classified as a community case. A fourth historical case is a previously reported community case which has been reclassified.
10 September
Eleven new community cases. Six new cases in managed isolation and two historical cases.
11 September
Twenty-three new community cases and one new case in managed isolation. In a second announcement today, the Ministry of Health says three people who presented at Middlemore Hospital in recent days have tested positive.
12 September
Twenty new community cases, three new cases in managed isolation and one historical case.
13 September
Thirty-three new community case and three new cases in managed isolation.
14 September
Fifteen new community cases and two new cases in managed isolation.
15 September
Fourteen new community cases and three historical cases in managed isolation.
16 September
Thirteen new community cases, three new cases in managed isolation and two historical cases. A truck driver who made deliveries from Auckland to Waikato and the Bay of Plenty has tested positive and is linked to the outbreak. A patient who tested positive at Middlemore Hospital on 15 September is in home isolation before transfer to MIQ. Five previous cases identified through exposure events at the hospital have been linked to the outbreak.

Director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield, seemingly with the endorsement of prime minister Jacinda Arden, voices a COVID-19 vaccination target of sorts. He says New Zealand needs a vaccination level of 90 per cent or above if the country is to enjoy the community benefits of a high level of vaccination, namely a high level of protection against getting unwell or dying from the disease. See here for details, at 33 minutes and 18 seconds: https://www.health.govt.nz/news-media/news-items/covid-19-update-16-september-2021
17 September
Eleven new community cases and five new cases in managed isolation.

Suspension of quarantine-free travel with Australia extended for another eight weeks.
18 September
Twenty new community cases, two new cases in managed isolation and two historical cases.
19 September
Twenty-four new community cases, for a total so far in the outbreak of 1050. In a second announcement today, the Ministry of Health says there are three new cases in the Kaiaua/Whakatīwai area of the Hauraki Plains/western Firth of Thames.
20 September
Twenty-two new community cases and one new case in managed isolation.

Alert level change: The northern Hauraki area is made subject to an order imposing level-4-like stay-at-home restrictions on people who have worked, lived or visited there since 8 September. Maximum level 2 gathering size, including at hospitality venues, increases to 100, from 50.
21 September
Fourteen new community cases (including one from north Hauraki) and one historical border-related case.

Alert level change: Auckland drops from Alert Level 4 to Alert Level 3 at 11.59pm and is planned to remain at level 3 until 5 October, pending a Cabinet review on 4 October. The rest of New Zealand, except northern Hauraki, will remain at level 2 while Auckland is at level 3 or 4.
22 September
Twenty-three new community cases, and one new historical border-related case.

Alert Level change: Upper Hauraki has moved to level 3, in line with Auckland's reduction to level 3 overnight, in addition to the order imposed regarding Upper Hauraki on 20 September.
23 September
Fifteen new community cases, one case in managed isolation and one historical border-related case. The number of cases so far in the community outbreak: 1123. In the past fortnight, 14 cases have not been epidemiologically linked to the outbreak.

Alert Level change: The level 4-like order restricting movement of people who visited Upper Hauraki before 7.30pm on 20 September is lifted today.
24 September
Nine new community cases and one historical case from managed isolation.
25 September
Sixteen new community cases and one historical border-related case.

Alert Level change: Upper Hauraki drops to Alert Level 2 at 11.59pm.
26 September
Eighteen new community cases and one new and two historical cases from managed isolation.
27 September
Twelve new community cases, for a total of 1177 in the outbreak.
28 September
Eight new community cases; and four border-related cases, one of which is historical. A wastewater sample taken from Tauranga on 23 September has tested positive.
29 September
Forty-five new community cases, of which 12 are not yet epidemiologically linked to the outbreak.
30 Septebmer
Nineteen new community cases, three new cases in managed isolation and three border-related historical cases
1 October
Nineteen new community cases
2 October
Twenty-seven new community cases. Counties Manukau DHB reported a possible COVID-19 exposure event that occurred at Middlemore Hospital last night; it involves a patient who tested positive after answering no to screening questions but then being observed during ED triage to have a COVID-like symptom. An Auckland-based truck driver who had travelled to Palmerston North for work was found to be positive today, based on a test done in Auckland yesterday, and is now isolating at a facility in Palmerston North.
3 October
Two community cases in Waikato - one in Raglan, the other in Hamilton East. Both were later confirmed by genome sequencing to be linked to each other and the Auckland outbreak. In total, 33 new community cases were reported today, including one of the Waikato cases. Auckland DHB reported that a parent of a baby in the Auckland City Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit tested positive today.

Alert Level change: Level 3 restrictions will be imposed from 11.59 tonight, initially for five days, at Raglan, Hamilton City, Ngaruawahia, Huntly and Te Kauwhata. Unlike what prime minister Jacinda Ardern calls the hard level 3 boundary around Auckland at present, level 3 restrictions in the five Waikato areas will be policed by spot checks.
4 October
Twenty-nine new community cases (including the second of the two Waikato cases reported yesterday) and two new cases in managed isolation. A visitor to North Shore Hospital's maternity ward and the baby they were visiting - but not the mother - have tested positive. A person admitted to the Auckland City Hospital ICU after going to the ED - for non-COVID reasons - has tested positive.
5 October
Twenty-four new community cases, of which 18 are in Auckland and six in Waikato; and two new cases in managed isolation.

Alert Level tweak: From 11.59pm, some restrictions will be eased in Auckland's (but not Waikato's) Alert Level 3 lockdown. Newly permitted will be outdoor gatherings of up to two households at a time, with a maximum of 10 people; the return of early childhood education for all enrollees, in bubbles of up to 10; and people can travel around the Auckland region for outdoor recreation such as going to the beach and hunting.

Some experts now say New Zealand is transitioning from an elimination strategy to a suppression strategy.
6 October
One new death, of a patient in Middlemore Hospital, bringing the total number of New Zealand deaths in the pandemic to 28.

Thirty-nine new community cases (30 in Auckland, 9 in Waikato), two new cases in managed isolation, and one case in a border worker which is under investigation for whether it is linked to the border or the community. Of the Waikato cases, two were from places outside the current level 3 areas, namely Kawhia and Karapiro.

Vaccination change: the Ministry of Health advises considering a shorter gap - of at least three weeks, between the first and second doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, down from the current six weeks, which has been the recommended gap since August.
7 October
Twenty-nine new community cases (24 in Auckland and five in Waikato), and two new cases in managed isolation. Later today, the Ministry of Health reported an additional new case, a person who returned a positive test in Auckland today after returning a weak positive result earlier this week in Whangārei.

Alert Level change: The part of the Waikato region at Alert Level 3 expands at 11.59 tonight to include the Waitomo (including Te Kuiti), Waipa and Otorohanga Districts.
8 October
Forty-four new community cases (41 in Auckland and three in Waikato), plus three new cases in managed isolation.

Alert Level change: Northland goes to level 3 at 11.59pm. The positive case which prompted this change travelled from Auckland to Northland and back, 2-6 October, visiting four urban areas. The Government believes she was accompanied by another woman and says the case supplied false information as the basis of obtaining travel permission.
9 October
Thirty-four new community cases (31 of them in Auckland and three in Waikato), and two new cases in managed isolation.

A test taken from a person in Auckland, who is now in the vicinity of Katikati, a level 2 area, is positive. The person had been living in Pukekohe (level 3) and was in the process of making a permitted household move to Katikati.
10 October
Sixty new community cases (56 in Auckland, three in Waikato, and the Katikati case publicised yesterday), and one new case in managed isolation.
11 October
Thirty-five new community cases, all in Auckland. This brings the total number of cases so far in this community outbreak to 1622, of which 1534 have been epidemiologically linked (leaving 88). In the past fortnight, 58 cases have not been epidemiologically linked.
12 October
Forty-three new community cases (40 in Auckland and three in Waikato) and three new border-related cases (of which one is historical).

The travelling companion of the Auckland case whose journey in Northland led to an Alert Level 3 lockdown in that region has been found by police in west Auckland and has tested positive.
13 October
Fifty-five new community cases (53 Auckland and two Waikato). Seventy-five cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight.

My Covid Record website is launched, providing people with access to their own COVID-19 vaccination records.
14 October
Seventy-one new community cases (all in Auckland) and one new border cases. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 102.
15 October
Sixty-five new community cases (all in Auckland) and one new border case. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 107.
16 October
Forty-one new community cases (40 in Auckland, one in Waikato) and two new border cases. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 124.

Nationally, 130,002 vaccine doses were administered today, a one-day record, in "Super Saturday" vaccination events. In Auckland 85 per cent of eligible people have now had at least one dose.
17 October
Fifty-one new community cases (47 in Auckland and four in Waikato) and two new cases in managed isolation. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 127.
18 October
Sixty new community cases (57 in Auckland and three in Waikato) and five new border cases. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 140.
19 October
Ninety-four new community cases (87 in Auckland and seven in Waikato) and five new border cases. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 183

Alert Level change: Northland moves from level 3, to level 2 at 11.59pm
20 October
Sixty new community cases (56 in Auckland and four in Waikato) and two new border cases. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 166.
21 October
New community cases: 102 (94 in Auckland and eight in Waikato). New border cases: 2. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 199.
22 October
New community cases: 129 (120 in Auckland and nine in Waikato). New border cases: 5. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 195.

A third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine that has been recommended for severely immunocompromised individuals aged 12 and older is now available
23 October
New community cases: 104 (91in Auckland, 8 in Waikato, 4 in Northland and 1 in Blenheim). New border cases: 2. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 274.
24 October
New community cases: 80 (77 in Auckland, 2 in Waikato and 1 in Northland). New border cases: 5 (including 1 historical). Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 287.
25 October
New community cases: 109 (103 in Auckland, 4 in Waikato and 2 in Northland). New border cases: 2. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 307.
26 October
New community cases: 79 (75 in Auckland and 4 in Waikato). New border cases: 1. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 281.
27 October
New community cases: 74 (68 in Auckland and six in Waikato). One new case and three historical cases in managed isolation. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 269.

Alert Level tweak: The parts of Waikato in Alert Level 3 move to the slightly eased restrictions of step 1 at 11.59 tonight.

New community cases: 89 (83 in Auckland, 4 in Waikato and 2 in Christchurch). One historical case in managed isolation. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 293.
29 October
New community cases: 125 (118 in Auckland, 4 in Waikato, 1 in Northland and 2 in Canterbury). New cases in managed isolation: 3 plus 1 historical case. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 289.
30 October
New community cases:160 (151 in Auckland, 7 in Waikato, 1 in Northland, 1 in Canterbury). New cases in managed isolation: 2. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 358.
31 October
New community cases:143 (135 in Auckland, 6 in Waikato and 2 in Northland). Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 384.
1 November
New community cases:162 (156 in Auckland, 5 in Waikato and 1 in Northland). (Today's case count was revised on 2 November by the reclassification of two community cases as border related, making the revised daily community tally 160.)

New cases in managed isolation: 4. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 421.
2 November
New community cases:126 (107 in Auckland, 18 in Waikato and 1 in Northland). New cases in managed isolation: 3. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 432.

Alert level tweak: The parts of Waikato at level 3 will to to step 2, a slight easing, tonight at 11.59. The Government announced yesterday that Auckland is on track to move to level 3, step 2 on 9 November (next Tuesday) at 11.59pm.
3 November
New community cases:100 (97 in Auckland and 3 in Waikato). New cases in managed isolation: 9, plus one historical case. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 441. The death of a COVID-19 case isolating at home in Manukau was reported this evening.
4 November
New community cases:139 (136 in Auckland, 2 in Waikato and 1 in Northland). New cases in managed isolation: 3. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 452.
5 November
New community cases:163 (159 in Auckland and 4 in Waikato). New cases in managed isolation: 2. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 515. The death of a COVID-19 case isolating at home in Mt Eden was reported today.
6 November
New community cases:206 (200 in Auckland, 4 in Waikato and 2 in Northland). New cases in managed isolation: 1. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 623.
7 November
New community cases:113 (109 in Auckland, 3 in Waikato and 1 in Northland). New cases in managed isolation: 1. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 645.
8 November
New community cases:190 (117 in Auckland, 2 in Waikato and 6 in Northland). New cases in managed isolation: 2 plus 1 historical case. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 700. The Ministry of Health also reported the death in Auckland City Hospital on 6 November of a patient in their late 60s who tested postive for COVID-19 when being admitted on 23 October following a trauma incident. Separately, the ministry reported the death today of a returnee in a managed isolation facility.
9 November
New community cases:125 (182 in Auckland, 7 in Waikato and 1 in Northland). New cases in managed isolation: 3. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 695. Cases in hospital: 79. Cases in ICU/HDU: 9.

Alert level tweak: at 11.50pm, Auckland moved from Alert Level 3 step 1, to step 2.
10 November
New community cases:147 (131 in Auckland, 14 in Waikato and 2 in Northland). New cases in managed isolation: 2. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 692. Cases in hospital: 81. Cases in ICU/HDU: 11. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 89% (first dose); 79% (second dose). The Health Ministry reported the third death in home isolation of a COVID-19 case, a man aged in his 60s who lived at Glen Eden, Auckland.
11 November
New community cases:185 (152 in Auckland, 25 in Waikato and 8 in Northland). New cases in managed isolation: 0. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 713. Cases in hospital: 84. Cases in ICU/HDU: 10. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 90% (first dose); 80% (second dose).

Alert level change: at 11.59 tonight, northern Northland goes from level 3, to level 2
12 November
New community cases:201 (181 in Auckland, 15 in Waikato, 4 in Northland and 1 - plus 5 to be included in tomorrow's figures - in Taranaki). New cases in managed isolation: 1. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 755. Cases in hospital: 85. Cases in ICU/HDU: 11. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 90% (first dose); 80% (second dose).
13 November
New community cases:175 (159 in Auckland, 8 in Waikato, 2 in Northland, 1 in Lakes DHB area, and 5 in Taranaki). New cases in managed isolation: 1, plus 1 historical case. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 768. Cases in hospital: 93. Cases in ICU/HDU: 9. Cases in home isolation in Auckland: 1655. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 90% (first dose); 80% (second dose).
14 November
New community cases:207 (192 in Auckland, 7 in Waikato, 2 in Northland, 4 in Lakes and 2 in MidCentral). New cases in managed isolation: 2, plus 1 historical case. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 800. Cases in hospital: 90. Cases in ICU/HDU: 7. A woman aged in her 90s, who had COVID and a number of underlying health conditions, died in North Shore Hospital last night. Cases in home isolation in Auckland: 1773. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 90% (first dose); 81% (second dose).

Shorter MIQ stays: From today, the managed isolation period for international travellers arriving in New Zealand reduces from 14 days,to 7 days, followed by isolation at home until the result of a day 9 test has been received and is negative. (Announced 28 October, with details of expanded home-isolation next year for arriving travellers).
15 November
New community cases:173 (163 in Auckland, 7 in Waikato, 2 in Northland, 1 in Lakes and 2 in MidCentral - plus 1 in Wairarapa that will be included in tomorrow's figures). New cases in managed isolation: 0, plus 1 historical case. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 861. Cases in hospital: 90. Cases in ICU/HDU: 7. Cases in home isolation in Auckland: 1893. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 90% (first dose); 81% (second dose).

Booster doses of Pfizer vaccine will be administered from 29 November (Chris Hipkins announcement today).
16 November
New community cases:222 (197 in Auckland, 20 in Waikato, 1 in Northland, 2 in Lakes and 1 in Wairarapa). New cases in managed isolation: 0. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 866. Cases in hospital: 91. Cases in ICU/HDU: 7. Deaths: 1, aged in their 70s, in Auckland City Hospital. Cases in home isolation: 2023 in Auckland and 92 in Waikato. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 90% (first dose); 81% (second dose).

Alert level change: The parts of Waikato in level 3 move to level 2 tonight at 11.59pm (announced on 15 November).
17 November
New community cases:194 (180 in Auckland, 5 in Waikato, 3 in Northland and 6 in Lakes). New cases in managed isolation: 2. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 836. Cases in hospital: 88. Cases in ICU/HDU: 7. Cases in home isolation: 2119 in Auckland and 91 in Waikato. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 91% (first dose); 82% (second dose).

Schools: Auckland and Waikato students in years 1-10 can return to face-to-face learning at schools and kura from today (Chris Hipkins announcement on 10 November).

People can request a "My Vaccine Pass", the Government's official proof that a person is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, from today (Chris Hipkins announcement today).
18 November
New community cases:167 (142 in Auckland, 17 in Waikato, 5 in Northland, 1 in Lakes, 1 in Bay of Plenty and 1 in Canterbury). New cases in managed isolation: 1. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 824. Cases in hospital: 85. Cases in ICU/HDU: 6. Deaths: 2, both in Auckland hospitals. Cases in home isolation: 2238 in Auckland and 81 in Waikato. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 91% (first dose); 82% (second dose).
19 November
New community cases:191 (152 in Auckland, 30 in Waikato, 5 in Northland, 2 in Lakes, 6 in Bay of Plenty, 1 in MidCentral, 1 in Wairarapa and 1 in Canterbury). New cases in managed isolation: 1. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 832. Cases in hospital: 76. Cases in ICU/HDU: 6. Deaths: 0. Cases in home isolation: 2035 in Auckland and 115 in Waikato. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 91% (first dose); 82% (second dose). Auckland DHB today becomes the first DHB area in which 90 per cent of those eligible are fully vaccinated.
20 November
New community cases:172 (148 in Auckland, 12 in Waikato, 4 in Northland, 4 in Lakes, 3 in Bay of Plenty, 1 in Wellington). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 190. New cases in managed isolation: 2. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 833. Cases in hospital: 70. Cases in ICU/HDU: 5. Deaths: 0. Cases in home isolation: 2459 in Auckland and 135 in Waikato. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 91% (first dose); 83% (second dose).
21 November
New community cases:149 (140 in Auckland, 6 in Waikato, 2 in Northland, 1 in Bay of Plenty, 1 in Lakes and 1 in Canterbury). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 182. New cases in managed isolation: 0. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 836. Cases in hospital: 83. Cases in ICU/HDU: 5. Deaths: 0. Cases in home isolation: 2580 in Auckland and 136 in Waikato. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 91% (first dose); 83% (second dose).
22 November
New community cases:205 (175 in Auckland, 20 in Waikato, 4 in Northland, 5 in Bay of Plenty and 1 in Lakes). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 186. New cases in managed isolation: 0. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 891. Cases in hospital: 85. Cases in ICU/HDU: 6. Deaths: 1, a man in his 40s, at Middlemore Hospital. Cases in home isolation: 1570 in Auckland and 145 in Waikato. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 91% (first dose); 83% (second dose).

Alert Level announcement: Whole country to move to the new COVID-19 Protection Framework (the traffic light system based on the vaccine pass) at 11.59pm on 2 December. Auckland will be red; rest of the country, to be confirmed on 29 November.
23 November
New community cases:215 (181 in Auckland, 18 in Waikato, 3 in Northland, 12 in Bay of Plenty, 1 in Canterbury). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 188. New cases in managed isolation: 1. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 920. Cases in hospital: 88. Cases in ICU/HDU: 6. Deaths: 1, a person in their 50s in Auckland City Hospital. Cases in home isolation: 1441 in Auckland and 143 in Waikato. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 91% (first dose); 84% (second dose).
24 November
New community cases: 215 (149 in Auckland, 16 in Waikato, 2 in Northland, 9 in Bay of Plenty, 1 in Lakes and 1 in MidCentral). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 190. New cases in managed isolation: 4. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 924. Cases in hospital: 87. Cases in ICU/HDU: 8. Cases in home isolation: 1578 in Auckland and 139 in Waikato. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 92% (first dose); 84% (second dose).
25 November
New community cases: 178 (149 in Auckland, 16 in Waikato, 2 in Northland, 9 in Bay of Plenty, 1 in Lakes ). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 187. New cases in managed isolation: 4. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: data unavailable. Cases in hospital: 77. Cases in ICU/HDU: 8. Deaths: 0. Cases in home isolation: 1172 in Auckland and 144 in Waikato. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 92% (first dose); 84% (second dose).
26 November
New community cases: 173 (154 in Auckland, 15 in Waikato, 1 in Northland, 2 in Bay of Plenty, 1 in Lakes). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 190. New cases in managed isolation: 4. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 899. Cases in hospital: 78. Cases in ICU/HDU: 8. Cases in home isolation: 1070 in Auckland and 129 in Waikato. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 92% (first dose); 85% (second dose).

Omicron named a variant of concern by the World Health Organisation.
27 November
New community cases: 145 (127 in Auckland, 13 in Waikato, 4 in Bay of Plenty, 1 in Canterbury ). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 183. New cases in managed isolation: 4. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 928. Cases in hospital: 77. Cases in ICU/HDU: 7. Deaths: 1, in Auckland City Hospital, a patient in their 80s. Cases in home isolation: 1078 in Auckland and 128 in Waikato. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 92% (first dose); 85% (second dose).
28 November
New community cases: 144 (128 in Auckland, 2 in Northland, 9 in Waikato, 4 in Bay of Plenty, 1 in Hawke's Bay). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 182. New cases in managed isolation: 4. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 904. Cases in hospital: 82. Cases in ICU/HDU: 9. Deaths: 1, in North Shore Hospital, a patient in their 80s. Cases in home isolation: 1119 in Auckland and 115 in Waikato. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 92% (first dose); 85% (second dose).

In response to Omicron, the Government places additional restrictions on travellers arriving from nine southern African countries which it has put on its list of very high risk countries.
29 November
New community cases: 182 (167 in Auckland, 5 in Northland, 10 in Waikato). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 179 . New cases in managed isolation: 3. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 934. Cases in hospital: 93. Cases in ICU/HDU: 10. Cases in home isolation: 1158 in Auckland and 124 in Waikato. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 92% (first dose); 85% (second dose).
30 November
New community cases: 134 (116 in Auckland, 1 in Northland, 8 in Waikato). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 167. New cases in managed isolation: 0, plus 1 historical case. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 933. Cases in hospital: 89. Cases in ICU/HDU: 9. Cases in home isolation: 977 in Auckland and 118 in Waikato. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 92% (first dose); 86% (second dose).
1 December
New community cases: 146 (124 in Auckland, 14 in Waikato, 4 in Bay of Plenty, 1 in Nelson Marlborough). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 157. New cases in managed isolation: 2, plus 1 historical case. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 905. Cases in hospital: 83. Cases in ICU/HDU: 9. Cases in home isolation: 1064 in Auckland and 119 in Waikato. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 93% (first dose); 86% (second dose).
2 December
New community cases: 172 (2 in Northland, 142 in Auckland, 15 in Waikato, 1 in Bay of Plenty, 2 in Lakes, 1 in MidCentral, 9 in Nelson Marlborough). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 157. New cases in managed isolation: 2. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 929. Cases in hospital: 86. Cases in ICU/HDU: 9. Cases in home isolation: 910 in Auckland and 113 in Waikato. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 93% (first dose); 86% (second dose).

Alert Level system replaced by COVID-19 Protection Framework (traffic lights) at 11.59pm. The South Island and parts of the North Island are at orange. The red areas are Auckland and Northland, and a large strip from Whanganui and Rangitikei to East Cape.
3 December
New community cases: 92 (1 in Northland, 80 in Auckland, 2 in Waikato, 5 in Bay of Plenty, 1 in Lakes, 2 in Taranaki, 1 in Nelson Marlborough. Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 145. New cases in managed isolation: 5 and 1 historical case. Cases not epidemiologi)cally linked in last fortnight: 888. Cases in hospital: 79. Cases in ICU/HDU: 9. Cases in home isolation: 1202 in Auckland and 90 in Waikato. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 93% (first dose); 87% (second dose).
4 December
New community cases: 98 (3 in Northland, 84 in Auckland, 21 in Waikato, 6 in Bay of Plenty, 1 in Lakes, 2 in Hawke's Bay, 1 in Nelson Marlborough). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 138. New cases in managed isolation: 2. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 842. Cases in hospital: 73. Cases in ICU/HDU: 7. Cases in home isolation: 908 in Auckland. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 93% (first dose); 87% (second dose).
5 December
New community cases: 106 (3 in Northland, 93 in Auckland, 8 in Waikato, 1 in Whanganui, 1 in Canterbury). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 133. New cases in managed isolation: 2. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 810. Cases in hospital: 77. Cases in ICU/HDU: 7. Cases in home isolation: 857 in Auckland and 107 in Waikato. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 93% (first dose); 88% (second dose).
6 December
New community cases: 135 (125 in Auckland, 8 in Waikato, 2 in Canterbury). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 126. New cases in managed isolation: 0. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 808. Cases in hospital: 76. Cases in ICU/HDU: 7. Cases in home isolation: 847 in Auckland and 108 in Waikato. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 93% (first dose); 88% (second dose).
7 December
New community cases: 98 (74 in Auckland, 10 in Waikato, 8 in Bay of Plenty, 1 in Taranaki, 5 in Nelson Marlborough). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 121. New cases in managed isolation: 0. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: 752. Cases in hospital: 66. Cases in ICU/HDU: 7. Cases in home isolation: 843 in Auckland and 109 in Waikato. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 93% (first dose); 88% (second dose).
8 December
New community cases: 90 (3 in Northland, 71 in Auckland, 9 in Waikato, 5 in Bay of Plenty, 1 in Lakes, 1 in Nelson-Tasman). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 113. New cases in managed isolation: 2. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: data unavailable. Cases in hospital: 74. Cases in ICU/HDU: 6. Cases in home isolation: 813 in Auckland and 109 in Waikato. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 94% (first dose); 88% (second dose).
9 December
New community cases: 103 (88 in Auckland, 9 in Waikato, 5 in Bay of Plenty, 1 in Lakes). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 103. New cases in managed isolation: 2. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: data unavailable. Cases in hospital: 70. Cases in ICU/HDU: 5. Cases in self-isolation: 863 in Auckland. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 94% (first dose); 88% (second dose).
10 December
New community cases: 95 (75 in Auckland, 11 in Waikato, 5 in Bay of Plenty, 1 in Lakes, 1 in Nelson-Tasman, 2 in Canterbury). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 103. New cases in managed isolation: 1. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: data unavailable. Cases in hospital: 56. Cases in ICU/HDU: 4. Deaths: 2 (in Middlemore and Auckland City hospitals). Cases in self-isolation: 802 in Auckland and 101 in Waikato. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 94% (first dose); 89% (second dose).
11 December
New community cases: 63 - Northland (2), Auckland (53), Waikato (3), Bay of Plenty (1), Taranaki (1). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 99. New cases in managed isolation: 2. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: data unavailable. Cases in hospital: 60. Cases in ICU/HDU: 3. Cases in self-isolation: 677 in Auckland. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 94% (first dose); 89% (second dose).
12 December
New community cases: 103 - Northland (2), Auckland (86), Waikato (9), Bay of Plenty (3), Lakes (1), Canterbury (2). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 92. New cases in managed isolation: 1. Cases not epidemiologically linked in last fortnight: data unavailable. Cases in hospital: 61. Cases in ICU/HDU: 3. Cases in self-isolation: 686 in Auckland. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 94% (first dose); 89% (second dose).
13 December
New community cases: 101 - Auckland (97), Bay of Plenty (1), Taranaki (1), Nelson-Marlborough (1), Canterbury (1). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 93. New cases in managed isolation: 2. Cases in hospital: 61. Cases in ICU/HDU: 4. Cases in self-isolation: 709 in Auckland.

Traffic light announcement: At 11.59pm on 30 December, Auckland and most other regions currently at red (the large strip of the North Island from Whanganui to East Cape) will go to orange. Northland will remain red and the South Island will remain orange.
14 December
New community cases: 80 - Auckland (51), Waikato (21), Bay of Plenty (7), Lakes (1). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 90. New cases in managed isolation: 2. Cases in hospital: 62. Cases in ICU/HDU: 4. Cases in self-isolation: 664 in Auckland. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 94% (first dose); 89% (second dose).
15 December
New community cases: 74 - Auckland (56), Waikato (9), Bay of Plenty (7), Lakes (1), Canterbury (1). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 85.4. New cases in managed isolation: 2. Cases in hospital: 61. Cases in ICU/HDU: 4. Deaths: 1, in Tauranga Hospital. Cases in self-isolation: 447 in Auckland. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 94% (first dose); 89% (second dose).

Auckland border lifted: Most people can travel out of Auckland if they are double vaccinated or have a recent negative test result
16 December
New community cases: 91 - Northland (2), Auckland (55), Waikato (7), Bay of Plenty (10), Lakes (1), Taranaki (16). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 84. New cases in managed isolation: 4. Cases in hospital: 58. Cases in ICU/HDU: 4. Cases in self-isolation: 504 in Auckland, 68 in Waikato. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 94% (first dose); 90% (second dose).

Omicron: first case reported in New Zealand, in managed isolation in Christchurch
17 December
New community cases: 76 - Auckland (47), Waikato (15), Bay of Plenty (10), Lakes (1), Taranaki (3). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 82. New cases in managed isolation: 3. Cases in hospital: 51. Cases in ICU/HDU: 5. Cases in self-isolation: 538 in Auckland, 68 in Waikato. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 94% (first dose); 90% (second dose).
18 December 2021-16 January 2022
New Zealand Doctor Rata Aotearoa summer hiatus

The community outbreak of Delta variant cases continued slowly to wane, while the number of COVID-19 cases in border facilities rose rapidly, fuelled by the large Omicron outbreaks overseas. Also during this period the first two series of community exposures to Omicron were reported, one from a British DJ, the other from an MIQ worker.

On 21 December, Government says phased border reopening will be delayed until the end of February.
2022 17 January
New community cases: 16 - Auckland (7), Lakes (6), Hawke's Bay (1), Wairarapa (1), West Coast (1). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 22. New border-related cases: 42. Seven day rolling average of border cases: 34. Cases in hospital: 30. Cases in ICU/HDU: 2. Cases in self-isolation: 190 in Auckland. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 95% (first dose); 93% (second dose).

From today, over-18s can book a booster shot four months since their last vaccine dose.

The COVID-19 paediatric Pfizer vaccine is available from today for children aged 5-11, initially at around 500 vaccination sites.
18 January
New community cases: 14 - Auckland (7), Lakes (6), Wellington (1). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 21. New border cases: 30. Seven day rolling average of border cases: 33. Cases in hospital: 30. Cases in ICU/HDU: 2. Cases in self-isolation in Auckland: 165. Vaccination rate of eligible people: 95% (first dose); 93% (second dose).

The first case of community transmission of Omicron in New Zealand has been reported - a household contact of the MIQ-worker case, who was in isolation when they tested positive.
19 January
New community cases: 24 - Northland (1), Auckland (14), Waikato (1), Lakes (5), Bay of Plenty (1), Hawke's Bay (1), Hutt Valley (1). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 21. New border-related cases: 56. Seven day rolling average of border cases: 35. Cases in hospital: 24. Cases in ICU/HDU: 2. Cases in self-isolation: 140 in Auckland.

Two household contacts and a work colleague of the Omicron-positive MIQ worker have symptoms but have returned negative COVID-19 test results. These are in addition to the one household contact who has returned a positive result. The worker's virus has been linked by genome testing to a case in the Stamford Plaza border facility.
20 January
New community cases: 39 - Auckland (21), Lakes (14), Hawke's Bay (2), Canterbury (1), West Coast (1). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 22. New border-related cases: 46. Seven day rolling average of border cases: 37. Cases in hospital: 21. Cases in ICU/HDU: 1. Cases in self-isolation: 142 in Auckland. Vaccination: 52 per cent of those eligible have received a booster dose.

Omicron: There have been 440 Omicron cases and 32 of Delta detected at the border since 1 December.

COVID-19 Protection Framework level change: Northland, currently at red, joins the rest of the country at orange at 11.59 tonight.
21 January
New community cases: 23 - Auckland (11), Waikato (1), Lakes (8), *Hawke's Bay (2), *Nelson Marlborough (1). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 22. New border-related cases: 44. Seven day rolling average of border cases: 40. Cases in hospital: 18. Cases in ICU/HDU: 1. Cases in self-isolation: 147 in Auckland. Vaccination: 54 per cent of those eligible have received a booster dose.

Isolation: The case isolation time has been temporarily increased to 14 days (from 10 days) because of the infectiousness of Omicron. The isolation time for close contacts has been increased to 10 days, from seven.

The Palmerston North case who tested positive on 19 January (after having been released from MIQ on 16 January on the strength of negative tests) has been determined to have Omicron and is linked to border cases in Auckland, not in Christchurch as initially thought.
22 January
New community cases: 43 - Auckland (19), Waikato (4), Lakes (6), Hawke's Bay (6), Nelson Marlborough (8). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 25. New border-related cases: 41. Seven day rolling average of border cases: 41. Cases in hospital: 8. Cases in ICU/HDU: 0. Cases in home-isolation: 158 in Auckland, 22 in Waikato. Vaccination: 54 per cent of those eligible have received a booster dose.
23 January
New community cases: 24 - Northland (2), Auckland (16), Waikato (1), Lakes (5). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 25. New border-related cases: 47. Seven day rolling average of border cases: 39. Cases in hospital: 8. Cases in ICU/HDU: 0. Cases in home-isolation: 154 in Auckland, 15 in Waikato.

The nine Nelson Marlborough cases reported yesterday have Omicron, and a 10th case from the same family household has been confirmed. The family were in Auckland 13-16 January where members went to a wedding, a funeral and entertainment venues. A flight attendant who was on one of their flights and four later flights has tested positive. A guest at one of the family events has tested positive.

COVID-19 Protection Framework level change: All of New Zealand goes to red, from orange, at 11.59 tonight because the risk of undetected community spread of Omicron is now considered high, owing to the findings connected with the Nelson Marlborough (Motueka) family and their contacts.
24 January
New community cases: 25 - Northland (4), Auckland (13), Waikato (4), Lakes (1), MidCentral (1), Nelson Tasman (2). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 27. New border-related cases: 50. Seven day rolling average of border cases: 43. Cases in hospital: 10. Cases in ICU/HDU: 0. Cases in home-isolation: 157 in Auckland, 19 in Waikato. Vaccination: 57 per cent of those due for a booster shot have received it.

Community transmission and the "January Omicron Cluster": Eight new cases today (two in Nelson/Tasman, five in Auckland and one in Palmerston North) for a total of 19 cases. A COVID-19-positive worker at Summerset by the Park Rest Home in south Auckland is connected to the Omicron outbreak.
25 January
New community cases: 25 - Northland (1), Auckland (18), Bay of Plenty (2), Lakes (2), MidCentral (1), Nelson Marlborough (1). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 29. New border-related cases: 37. Seven day rolling average of border cases: 38. Cases in hospital: 10. Cases in ICU/HDU: 0. Cases in home-isolation: 164 in Auckland. Vaccination: 20 per cent of children aged 5-11 have received one dose.

The January Omicron Cluster: 10 new community cases, including two in Tauranga, for a total of 29.
26 January
New community cases: 23 - Northland (1), Auckland (12), Waikato (3), Lakes (5), Capital and Coast (1), Nelson Marlborough (1). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 27. New border-related cases: 36. Seven day rolling average of border cases: 39. Cases in hospital: 6. Cases in ICU/HDU: 0. Cases in home-isolation: 168 in Auckland. Vaccination: 23 per cent of children aged 5-11 have received one dose. Community Omicron case tally stands at 56 cases.
27 January
New community cases: 45 - Auckland (22), Waikato (2), Bay of Plenty (3), Lakes (7), Taranaki (1), Hawke's Bay (8), Nelson Marlborough (2). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 29. New border-related cases: 51. Seven day rolling average of border cases: 42. Cases in hospital: 5. Cases in ICU/HDU: 1. Cases in home-isolation: 176 in Auckland. Community Omicron case tally stands at 90 cases.
28 January
New community cases: 105 - .Auckland (76), Waikato (5), Tairawhiti (1), Bay of Plenty (9), Lakes (7), Hawke's Bay (1), MidCentral (1), Nelson Marlborough (2), Canterbury (3). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 40. New border-related cases: 45. Seven day rolling average of border cases: 41. Cases in hospital: 4. Cases in ICU/HDU: 1. Cases in home-isolation: 206 in Auckland.
29 January
New community cases: 97 - .Northland (1), Auckland (61), Waikato (14), Tairawhiti (3), Bay of Plenty (8), Lakes (7), Hawke's Bay (3). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 48. New border-related cases: 58. Seven day rolling average of border cases: 44. Cases in hospital: 7. Cases in ICU/HDU: 0. Cases in home-isolation: 242 in Auckland.

Health Ministry reports that common early symptoms of Omicron infection are sore, scratchy throat and a runny nose.
30 January
New community cases: 103 - .Northland (4), Auckland (56), Waikato (12), Tairāwhiti (1), Bay of Plenty (14), Lakes (8), Hawke's Bay (3), MidCentral (1), Taranaki (1), Wellington (2), Nelson Tasman (1). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 59. New border-related cases: 37. Seven day rolling average of border cases: 43. Cases in hospital: 11. Cases in ICU/HDU: 0. Deaths: 1, a patient at North Shore Hospital aged in their 70s. Cases in home-isolation: 288 in Auckland.
31 January
New community cases: 91 - .Northland (1), Auckland (65), Waikato (17), Tairāwhiti (1), Lakes (3), Bay of Plenty (1), Hawke's Bay (2), Wellington (1). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 69. New border-related cases: 39. Seven day rolling average of border cases: 40. Cases in hospital: 10. Cases in ICU/HDU: 0. Cases in home-isolation: 354 in Auckland.

Omicron is now the dominant variant of COVID-19 in New Zealand
1 February
New community cases: 126 - .Northland (5), Auckland (84), Waikato (20), Lakes (1), Bay of Plenty (8), Tairāwhiti (2), Taranaki (1), Hawke's Bay (2), Wellington (1), Nelson Marlborough (1), Canterbury (1). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 84. New border-related cases: 79. Seven day rolling average of border cases: 46. Cases in hospital: 8. Cases in ICU/HDU: 0. Cases in home-isolation: 427 in Auckland.
2 February
New community cases: 142 - .Northland (11), Auckland (103), Waikato (12), Lakes (2), Bay of Plenty (5), Taranaki (3), Hawke's Bay (1),Nelson Marlborough (2), Canterbury (3). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 101. New border-related cases: 54. Seven day rolling average of border cases: 49. Cases in hospital: 6. Cases in ICU/HDU: 0. Cases in home-isolation: 515 in Auckland.
3 February
New community cases: 147 - .Northland (14), Auckland (90), Waikato (15), Lakes (9), Bay of Plenty (8), Hawke's Bay (7), Capital and Coast (4). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 113. New border-related cases: 44. Seven day rolling average of border cases: 47. Cases in hospital: 13. Cases in ICU/HDU: 0. Cases in home-isolation: 568 in Auckland.

Government announces rescheduled plan for border reopening, which will begin on 27 February with fully vaccinated New Zealanders and other eligible travellers returning to New Zealand from Australia. Instead of MIQ, they will self-isolate for 10 days, or for seven days if New Zealand has moved to phase 2 of its Omicron plan.

New mask rules come into force at 11.59pm. Medical type masks become mandatory for workers subject to compulsory vaccination and in a public facing role. Masks worn by the public in places where they are mandatory can no longer be a T-shirt, bandana or scarf.
4 February
New community cases: 209 - .Northland (21), Auckland (99), Waikato (51), Lakes (15), Bay of Plenty (15), Hawke's Bay (3), Tairāwhiti (4), MidCentral (1). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 128. New border-related cases: 64. Seven day rolling average of border cases: 49. Cases in hospital: 9. Cases in ICU/HDU: 1. Cases in home-isolation in Auckland: 642.

Vaccination: From today the approved gap between the second and booster doses reduces to three months, from four, for those eligible for booster shots (who are those over 18).
5 February
New community cases: 243. Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 148. New border-related cases: 26. Seven day rolling average of border cases: 44. Cases in hospital: 10. Cases in ICU/HDU: 1. Cases in home-isolation in Auckland: 728.
6 Feburary
New community cases: 208 - Northland (7), Auckland (128), Waikato (49), Lakes (1), Bay of Plenty (11), Hawke's Bay (5), Wellington (3), Nelson Marlborough (3), South Canterbury (1). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 157. New border-related cases: 19. Seven day rolling average of border cases: 40. Cases in hospital: 12. Cases in ICU/HDU: 1. Cases in home-isolation in Auckland: 861.
7 February
New community cases: 188 - Northland (16), Auckland (117), Waikato (15), Tairāwhiti (1), Lakes (12), Bay of Plenty (20), Hawke's Bay (1), Mid Central (1), Hutt Valley (2), Canterbury (3). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 170. New border-related cases: 27. Seven day rolling average of border cases: 38. Cases in hospital: 14. Cases in ICU/HDU: 1. Cases in home-isolation in Auckland: 997.
8 February
New community cases: 202 - Northland (17), Auckland (119), Waikato (39), Lakes (4), Bay of Plenty (8), Taranaki (1), Hawke's Bay (8), Hutt Valley (1), Capital & Coast (4), Nelson Marlborough (1). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 183. New border-related cases: 63. Seven day rolling average of border cases: 38. Cases in hospital: 14. Cases in ICU/HDU: 1. Cases in home-isolation in Auckland: 1099.
9 February
New community cases: 204 - Northland (8), Auckland (135), Waikato (35), Lakes (2), Bay of Plenty (11),Taranaki (1), MidCentral (2) Wellington (3), Hutt Valley (3), Nelson Marlborough (1), Canterbury (3). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 194. New border-related cases: 46. Seven day rolling average of border cases: 38. Cases in hospital: 16. Cases in ICU/HDU: 0. Cases in home-isolation in Auckland: 1218.
10 February
New community cases: 306 - Northland (12), Auckland (216), Waikato (48), Tairāwhiti (4), Bay of Plenty (7), Lakes (6), MidCentral (2), Taranaki (5), Hutt Valley (3); Capital and Coast (3). Seven-day rolling average of community cases: 215. New border-related cases: 30. Seven day rolling average of border cases: 35. Cases in hospital: 12. Cases in ICU/HDU: 0.
11 February
New community cases: 446 - Northland (16), Auckland (340), Waikato (48), Bay of Plenty (14), Lakes (13), Taranaki (1), Hutt Valley (7), Capital and Coast (4), Southern (3). Seven-day average of community cases: 244. New border-related cases: 32. Seven day average of border cases: 33. Cases in hospital: 49. Cases in ICU/HDU: 0. Vaccination: 43 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 56 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it.
12 February
New community cases: 454 - Northland (12), Auckland (294), Waikato (72), Bay of Plenty (23), Lakes (8), Hawke's Bay (7), MidCentral (5), Taranaki (1), Wellington (5), Hutt Valley (12), Wairarapa (2), Southern (13). Seven-day average of community cases: 275. New border-related cases: 8. Seven day average of border cases: 28. Cases in hospital: 27. Cases in ICU/HDU: 0. Vaccination: 44 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 58 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it.
13 February
New community cases: 810 - Northland (13), Auckland (623), Waikato (81), Bay of Plenty (11), Lakes (11), Hawke's Bay (8), MidCentral (3), Whanganui (6), Taranaki (5), Tairawhiti (3), Wellington (15), Hutt Valley (10), Nelson Marlborough (2), Canterbury (3), South Canterbury (2), Southern (14). Seven-day average of community cases: 432. New border-related cases: 18 (including 5 historical). Seven day average of border cases: 25. Cases in hospital: 32. Cases in ICU/HDU: 0. Vaccination: 45 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 59 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it.
14 February
New community cases: 810 - Northland (21), Auckland (768), Waikato (82), Bay of Plenty (23), Lakes (12), Hawke's Bay (5), MidCentral (5), Taranaki (1), Tairawhiti (6), Wairarapa (12), Wellington (6), Hutt Valley (14), Nelson Marlborough (2), Canterbury (4), South Canterbury (1), Southern (19). Seven-day average of community cases: 468. New border-related cases: 25 (including 8 historical). Seven day average of border cases: 27. Cases in hospital: 39. Cases in ICU/HDU: 0. Vaccination: 45 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 60 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it.
15 February
New community cases: 744 - Northland (43), Auckland (535), Waikato (69), Bay of Plenty (8), Lakes (10), Hawke's Bay (1), MidCentral (6), Taranaki (2), Tairāwhiti (7), Wairarapa (1), Capital and Coast (5), Hutt Valley (9), Nelson Marlborough (9), Canterbury (9), Southern (30). Seven-day average of community cases: 541. New border-related cases: 19 (including 3 historical). Seven day average of border cases: 20. Cases in hospital: 40. Cases in ICU/HDU: 0. Vaccination: 45 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 61 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it.

At 11.59pm, New Zealand moves to phase 2 of the Government's Omicron plan. Self-isolation period reduces to 10 days, from 14, for cases. Household contacts of cases must self isolate for 10 days and no more than the 10 days' recovery period of cases in their household unless the contact becomes a case. The self-isolation period for other close contacts reduces to seven days, from 10. "Critical worker" close contacts who can't work from home can keep going to work under the "close contact exemption scheme" if they are asymptomatic, vaccinated and return a daily negative rapid antigen test. Notification of cases and contact tracing will be based more on text messaging and online form-filling, rather than on phone conversations.
16 February
New community cases: 1160 - Northland (24), Auckland (861), Waikato (73), Bay of Plenty (33), Lakes (5), Hawke's Bay (15), MidCentral (3), Whanganui (4), Taranaki (9), Tairāwhiti (9), Wairarapa (5), Capital and Coast (32), Hutt Valley (20), Nelson Marlborough (15), Canterbury (8), South Canterbury (3), Southern (39), Unknown (2). Seven-day average of community cases: 683. New border-related cases: 43. Seven day average of border cases: 20. Cases in hospital: 56. Cases in ICU/HDU: 0. Vaccination: 46 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 62 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it.
17 February
New community cases: 1573 - Northland (31), Auckland (1,140), Waikato (143), Bay of Plenty (29), Lakes (35), Hawke's Bay (2), MidCentral (3), Whanganui (11), Taranaki (8), Tairāwhiti (8), Wairarapa (30), Capital and Coast (20), Hutt Valley (22), Nelson Marlborough (49), Canterbury (7), Southern (35). Seven-day average of community cases: 844. New border-related cases: 15. Seven day average of border cases: 17. Cases in hospital: 63. Cases in ICU/HDU: 0. Vaccination: 46 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 62 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it.
18 February
New community cases: 1929 - Northland (13), Auckland (1,384), Waikato (155), Bay of Plenty (58), Lakes (9), Hawke's Bay (17), MidCentral (3), Whanganui (11), Taranaki (9), Tairāwhiti (8), Wairarapa (5), Capital and Coast (28), Hutt Valley (50), Nelson Marlborough (60), Canterbury (31), South Canterbury (7), Southern (77). Seven-day average of community cases: 1051. New border-related cases: 18. Seven day average of border cases: 12. Cases in hospital: 73. Cases in ICU/HDU: 1. Vaccination: 46 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 62 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it.
19 February
New community cases: 1901 - Northland (33), Auckland (1,240), Waikato (249), Bay of Plenty (66), Lakes (11), Hawke's Bay (22), MidCentral (12), Whanganui (10), Taranaki (10), Tairāwhiti (12), Wairarapa (17), Capital and Coast (38), Hutt Valley (31), Nelson Marlborough (40), Canterbury (40), South Canterbury (2), West Coast (1), Southern (65). Unknown (2). Seven-day average of community cases: 1232. New border-related cases: 14 (including 5 historical). Seven day average of border cases: 11. Cases in hospital: 76. Cases in ICU/HDU: 0. Vaccination: 47 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 65 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it.
20 February
New community cases: 2522 - Northland (41), Auckland (1,799), Waikato (188), Bay of Plenty (86), Lakes (11), Hawke's Bay (24), MidCentral (13), Whanganui (2), Taranaki (9), Tairāwhiti (12), Wairarapa (14), Capital and Coast (54), Hutt Valley (25), Nelson Marlborough (53), Canterbury (76), South Canterbury (1), Southern (111). Unknown (3). Seven-day average of community cases: 1447. New border-related cases: 17 (including 4 historical). Seven day average of border cases: 17. Cases in hospital: 100. Cases in ICU/HDU: 0. Vaccination: 48 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 65 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it.
21 February
New community cases: 2365 - Northland (50), Auckland (1,692), Waikato (136), Bay of Plenty (42), Lakes (24), Hawke's Bay (23), MidCentral (14), Whanganui (5), Taranaki (4), Tairāwhiti (9), Wairarapa (8), Capital and Coast (89), Hutt Valley (19), Nelson Marlborough (58), Canterbury (105), South Canterbury (1), Southern (86). Seven-day average of community cases: 1667. New border-related cases: 12 (including 4 historical). Seven day average of border cases: 11. Cases in hospital: 116. Cases in ICU/HDU: 1. Deaths: 2, at Middlemore and Auckland City hospitals. Vaccination: 48 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 66 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it.

Following days of long delays for testing, the Ministry of Health says rapid antigen test kits will from today be given to some people who fit "appropriate clinical criteria" (which are not yet publicly specified) at Auckland community testing centres.
22 February
New community cases: 2846 - Northland (36), Auckland (1,802), Waikato (285), Bay of Plenty (86), Lakes (19), Hawke's Bay (25), MidCentral (25), Whanganui (19), Taranaki (26), Tairāwhiti (17), Wairarapa (2), Capital and Coast (84), Hutt Valley (25), Nelson Marlborough (77), Canterbury (105), South Canterbury (4), Southern (206). Seven-day average of community cases: 1966. New border-related cases: 15 (including 4 historical). Seven day average of border cases: 11. Cases in hospital: 143. Cases in ICU/HDU: 1. Vaccination: 48.2 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 67.1 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it.
23 February
New community cases: 3297 - Northland (40), Auckland (1,729), Waikato (297), Bay of Plenty (157), Lakes (54), Hawke's Bay (18), MidCentral (56), Whanganui (5), Taranaki (30), Tairāwhiti (16), Wairarapa (16), Capital and Coast (123), Hutt Valley (28), Nelson Marlborough (85), Canterbury (176), South Canterbury (7), Southern (455), West Coast (3). Seven-day average of community cases: 2257. New border-related cases: 8. Seven day average of border cases: 8. Cases in hospital: 179. Cases in ICU/HDU: 1. Vaccination: 48.5 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 67.7 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it.
24 February
New community cases: 6137 - Northland (56), Auckland (1,979), Waikato (314), Bay of Plenty (116), Lakes (75), Hawke's Bay (30), MidCentral (69), Whanganui (13), Taranaki (30), Tairāwhiti (26), Wairarapa (11), Capital and Coast (120), Hutt Valley (68), Nelson Marlborough (112), Canterbury (194), South Canterbury (3), Southern (305), West Coast (4). Seven-day average of community cases: 2911 (stated, for the first time, as PCR results, now that RAT testing is widespread). New border-related cases: 8. Cases in hospital: 205. Cases in ICU/HDU: 2. Deaths: 1 (Middlemore Hospital). Vaccination: 48.8 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 68.2 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it.

Phase 3 of the Government's Omicron plan comes into effect at 11.59pm. Main features include that only household contacts will be counted as contacts, RAT-detected cases will self-notify their result to the official register, cases will be asked to notify their own contacts, and supervised RAT tests is being introduced at Auckland general practices and urgent care clinics.
25 February
New community cases: 12,011 - 3807 by PCR, 8223 by RAT. Seven-day average of community cases: 3576 (by PCR). New border-related cases: 19. Cases in hospital: 237. Cases in ICU/HDU: 3. Deaths: 5 (North Shore, Waikato and Tauranga). Vaccination: 49.1 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 68.8 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it.
26 February
New community cases: 13,606 - 2613 by PCR, 10,993 by RAT. Location - Northland (218), Auckland (9,262), Waikato (1,154), Bay of Plenty (690), Lakes (185), Hawke's Bay (106), MidCentral (123), Whanganui (28), Taranaki (52), Tairāwhiti (48), Wairarapa (18), Capital and Coast (413), Hutt Valley (130), Nelson Marlborough (176), Canterbury (469), South Canterbury (20), Southern (505), West Coast (3); Unknown (6). Seven-day average of community cases: 5078 (by PCR). New border-related cases: 6. Cases in hospital: 263. Cases in ICU/HDU: 5. Deaths: 0. Vaccination: 49.6 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 69.5 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it.
27 February
New community cases: 14,941 - 5747 by PCR, 9194 by RAT. Location - Northland (225), Auckland (9,046), Waikato (1,519), Bay of Plenty (812), Lakes (208), Hawke's Bay (136), MidCentral (142), Whanganui (19), Taranaki (100), Tairāwhiti (69), Wairarapa (45), Capital and Coast (516), Hutt Valley (373), Nelson Marlborough (158), Canterbury (981), South Canterbury (44), Southern (532), West Coast (9); Unknown (5). Seven-day average of community cases: 6705 (by PCR). New border-related cases: 41. Cases in hospital: 305. Cases in ICU/HDU: 5. Deaths: 1 (Northland). Vaccination: 50.2 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 70.1 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it.

Border: From 11.59pm, fully vaccinated New Zealanders returning from New Zealand are subject to self-isolation, not MIQ.
28 February
New community cases: 14,633 - 3822 by PCR, 10,811 by RAT. Location - Northland (208), Auckland (9,305), Waikato (1,530), Bay of Plenty (762), Lakes (265), Hawke's Bay (138), MidCentral (175), Whanganui (30), Taranaki (67), Tairāwhiti (60), Wairarapa (52), Capital and Coast (604), Hutt Valley (281), Nelson Marlborough (178), Canterbury (573), South Canterbury (24), Southern (372), West Coast (3); Unknown (6). Seven-day average of community cases: 8398 (by PCR). New border-related cases: 24. Cases in hospital: 344. Cases in ICU/HDU: 5. Deaths: 0. Vaccination: 50.4 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 70.3 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it.

Government announces self-isolation requirements to be relaxed for returning New Zealanders.
1 March
New community cases: 19,566 - 2513 by PCR, 17,053 by RAT. Location - Northland (329), Auckland (12,530), Waikato (1,812), Bay of Plenty (1,185), Lakes (376), Hawke's Bay (168), MidCentral (260), Whanganui (45), Taranaki (165), Tairāwhiti (88), Wairarapa (42), Capital and Coast (691), Hutt Valley (355), Nelson Marlborough (196), Canterbury (740), South Canterbury (37), Southern (529), West Coast (17); Unknown (1).

Seven-day average of community cases: 10,689 (testing method not stated). New border-related cases: 22. Cases in hospital: 373. Cases in ICU/HDU: 9. Deaths: 0. Vaccination: 50.7 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 70.9 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it.

Novovax vaccine approved in New Zealand for those 18 and older.
2 March
New community cases: 22,152 - 3525 by PCR, 18,627 by RAT. Location - Northland (382), Auckland (13,231), Waikato (2,139), Bay of Plenty (1,270), Lakes (415), Hawke's Bay (273), MidCentral (367), Whanganui (56), Taranaki (261), Tairāwhiti (137), Wairarapa (91), Capital and Coast (1,115), Hutt Valley (473), Nelson Marlborough (272), Canterbury (1,033), South Canterbury (36), Southern (578), West Coast (15); Unknown (8).

Seven-day average of community cases: 12,939. New border-related cases: 8. Cases in hospital: 405. Cases in ICU/HDU: 10. Deaths: 0. Vaccination: 51 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 71.7 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it.

Border rules: From 11.59pm, fully vaccinated New Zealanders and other eligible people entering from Australia do not have to isolate. They must return a negative pre-departure test result. They must also return negative RAT results on arrival and on day 5/6; those who are COVID-positive must report the results and self-isolate.
3 March
New community cases: 23,183 - 3378 by PCR, 19,805 by RAT. Location - Northland (520), Auckland (13,237), Waikato (1,870), Bay of Plenty (1,332), Lakes (537), Hawke's Bay (315), MidCentral (381), Whanganui (79), Taranaki (289), Tairāwhiti (134), Wairarapa (94), Capital and Coast (1,487), Hutt Valley (642), Nelson Marlborough (271), Canterbury (1,294), South Canterbury (53), Southern (615), West Coast (16); Unknown (17).

Seven-day average of community cases: 14,972. New border-related cases: 11 probables. Cases in hospital: 503. Cases in ICU/HDU: 7. Deaths: 1 (Bay of Plenty resthome). Vaccination: 51.3 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 72 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it.
4 March
New community cases: 22,527 - 3748 by PCR, 18,779 by RAT. Location - Northland (515), Auckland (13,252), Waikato (1,674), Bay of Plenty (1,248), Lakes (464), Hawke's Bay (325), MidCentral (364), Whanganui (79), Taranaki (257), Tairāwhiti (155), Wairarapa (69), Capital and Coast (1,356), Hutt Valley (577), Nelson Marlborough (304), Canterbury (1,163), South Canterbury (63), Southern (632), West Coast (16); Unknown (14).

Seven-day average of community cases: 16,163. New border-related cases: 8. Cases in hospital: 562. Cases in ICU/HDU: 11. Deaths: 5. Vaccination: 51.6 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 72.2 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it.

Border: From 11.59pm, fully vaccinated New Zealanders and others with Immigration eligibility can enter from anywhere and do not need to isolate.
5 March
New community cases: 18,833 - 1173 by PCR, 17,660 by RAT. Location - Northland (483), Auckland (9,789), Waikato (1,575), Bay of Plenty (1,222), Lakes (459), Hawke's Bay (327), MidCentral (417), Whanganui (95), Taranaki (264), Tairāwhiti (153), Wairarapa (94), Capital and Coast (1,308), Hutt Valley (576), Nelson Marlborough (258), Canterbury (1,170), South Canterbury (57), Southern (558), West Coast (17); Unknown (11).

Seven-day average of community cases: 16,687. New border-related cases: 7. Cases in hospital: 597. Cases in ICU/HDU: 10. Deaths: 5. Vaccination: 51.8 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 72.3 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it.
6 March
New community cases: 15,161 - 547 by PCR, 14,618 by RAT. Northland (382), Auckland (7,226), Waikato (1,334), Bay of Plenty (937), Lakes (434), Hawke's Bay (336), MidCentral (378), Whanganui (59), Taranaki (239), Tairāwhiti (166), Wairarapa (85), Capital and Coast (1,161), Hutt Valley (648), Nelson Marlborough (233), Canterbury (1,019), South Canterbury (52), Southern (444), West Coast (17); Unknown (11).

Seven-day average of community cases: 17,272. New border-related cases: 4. Cases in hospital: 618. Cases in ICU/HDU: 10. Deaths:1. Vaccination: 52.3 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 72.4 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it.

Epidemiologists, modellers and COVID-19 response minister Chris Hipkins warn that the actual case numbers are now likely to be far higher than the reported daily tallies, partly because people testing themselves with RAT tests are asked to self-report their results. Hospital admissions are considered a more reliable tracker of the pandemic.
7 March
New community cases: 17,522 - 897 by PCR, 16,625 by RAT. Northland (509), Auckland (7,639), Waikato (1,541), Bay of Plenty (1,174), Lakes (475), Hawke's Bay (435), MidCentral (400), Whanganui (95), Taranaki (311), Tairāwhiti (217), Wairarapa (99), Capital and Coast (1,545), Hutt Valley (837), Nelson Marlborough (329), Canterbury (1,308), South Canterbury (82), Southern (506), West Coast (14); Unknown (6).

Seven-day average of community cases: 17,921. New border-related cases: 11. Cases in hospital: 696. Cases in ICU/HDU: 13. Deaths:0. Vaccination: 52.4 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 72.3 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it (0.01 percentage point lower than yesterday - unexplained).
8 March
New community cases: 23,894 - 596 by PCR, 23,298 by RAT. Northland (718), Auckland (9,881), Waikato (2,146), Bay of Plenty (1,691), Lakes (660), Hawke's Bay (707), MidCentral (632), Whanganui (166), Taranaki (525), Tairāwhiti (366), Wairarapa (136), Capital and Coast (1,787), Hutt Valley (1,061), Nelson Marlborough (435), Canterbury (1,903), South Canterbury (129), Southern (914), West Coast (30); Unknown (7).

Seven-day average of community cases: 18,669. New border-related cases: 19. Cases in hospital: 757. Cases in ICU/HDU: 16. Deaths:0. Vaccination: 52.5 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one dose; 72.5 per cent of people eligible for a booster dose have received it.

COVID-positive critical workers can return to work in some circumstances.

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Timeline - coronavirus - COVID-19 2019 29 December Chinese authorities advise the WHO of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause, originating in Wuhan, Hubei province 2020 7 January China isolates a novel coronavirus, at first called 2019-nCoV and later SARS-CoV-2 13 January First lab-confirmed case outside China identified, in Thailand