New Zealand COVID-19 case linked to international passenger

• Authorities believe the airport cleaner who contracted COVID-19 in New Zealand may have caught the virus from an international passenger
• The fully vaccinated Auckland Airport employee is believed to have contracted coronavirus on April 10 but didn’t test positive until nine days later
• More than two dozen close contacts of the worker have been identified, with testing underway to determine if the virus has spread
• This case of COVID-19 in New Zealand comes as the country finally opened a travel bubble to Australia, allowing passengers to arrive without quarantining
• Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said quarantine-free travel would continue at this stage, despite the positive case

Authorities believe the airport worker who contracted COVID-19 in New Zealand may have caught the virus from an international passenger.

The country’s health leader confirmed on Monday that a cleaner at Auckland Airport had tested positive for the potentially deadly coronavirus.

It’s believed the person contracted coronavirus on April 10 but didn’t test positive until nine days later. The worker also caught COVID-19 despite receiving their full vaccinations against the virus.

Director of Public Health Caroline McElnay explained the employee helped clean two planes, one from Ethiopia which travelled through the United Arab Emirates, and another plane that flew to Australia.

More than two dozen close contacts of the worker have been identified, with testing underway to determine if the virus has spread. However, the country’s health leader said it appeared unlikely the person had infected anyone else.

“Our assessment is there is no additional risk to any passengers who traveled on those flights cleaned by the infected person,” she said.

The case of COVID-19 in New Zealand comes as the country finally opened a travel bubble to Australia, allowing passengers to arrive in Auckland and elsewhere without undertaking a mandatory two-week quarantine.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has already indicated that quarantine-free travel would continue between New Zealand and Australia at this stage, despite the positive case.

The Ministry of Health in New Zealand has also advised this COVID-19 case appeared to have a low risk of spreading.

“The ministry’s assessment, based on what we know so far, is that the risk to the public appears low,” the ministry said in a statement.