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- New Zealand’s health authorities have reported the country’s first COVID-19 detection in months, putting an end to what had been declared a COVID-free economy
- A 56-year-old woman who had recently returned from Europe tested positive for the South African variant of the virus
- She is thought to have contracted the virus from another returned traveller on the same floor of Auckland’s Pullman Hotel during her 14-day quarantine
- The woman returned home on January 13 and tested negative twice before developing symptoms
- Public health officials are currently working with the Pullman Hotel to establish whether the building’s ventilation system played a role in the transmission
New Zealand’s health authorities have reported the country’s first COVID-19 detection in months, putting an end to what had been declared a COVID-free economy.
A 56-year-old woman who had recently returned from Europe tested positive for the South African variant of the virus while in the community and is thought to have contracted it from another returned traveller on the same floor of Auckland’s Pullman Hotel during her 14-day quarantine.
The woman returned home on January 13 and tested negative twice before developing symptoms.
Public health officials were quick to jump on the infection, with more than 100 of the 253 returned travellers who left the Pullman Hotel in the infection window successfully contacted by Monday morning.
Nevertheless, it’s driven a resurgence in testing to the north of the country, and New Zealand’s health director-general Ashley Bloomfield said that there will be “waits in some places.”
“We want people to be tested, we want to ensure the right people are tested, because that’s how we will confirm that there is no onward community transmission,” he added.
“It’s important that it is prioritised for those people who need the testing.”
Bloomfield also noted that it was the woman’s use of New Zealand’s COVID-19 contact tracing app that had allowed for such a swift response.
“Remember, this could be anyone at any time, and it’s up to all of us to protect each other,” he continued.
Health authorities are currently working with the Pullman Hotel to establish whether the building’s ventilation system played a role in the transmission.
