New Zealand’s 24-day streak without a new coronavirus case is over after two women who arrived from Britain to visit a dying parent tested positive for the disease.
The two women landed in New Zealand on June 7 and were allowed to leave quarantine six days later to grieve with another relative when the parent died.
After making the trip, the women were tested in Wellington ‘as part of their agreed self-isolation plan’ – although one of them realised ‘in retrospect’ that she had experienced symptoms earlier.
The positive results came back today, a week after New Zealand scrapped almost all its lockdown restrictions and PM Jacinda Ardern said the country had ‘eliminated transmission of the virus’.
Passengers on the women’s connecting flight from Brisbane and staff at their ‘managed isolation hotel’ are now being traced as officials try to prevent a new outbreak.
New Zealand’s director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield (pictured) speaks at a press conference about the two new cases today
The two women, one in her 30s and one in her 40s, stayed in a ‘managed isolation hotel’ in Auckland after they landed on June 7.
They applied for permission to visit a dying relative in Wellington on June 12, but the parent died that evening.
The next day, the two women were given permission to drive to Wellington ‘on compassionate grounds’.
The women were carrying a ‘supply of face masks’ with them but were not tested before they left the hotel.
New Zealand’s director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield said they ‘had no contact with anyone else during that trip’ and ‘did everything that was asked of them’.
The two women did not use any ‘public facilities’, he said – adding that there is ‘a lot of empty roadside’ on the way from Auckland to Wellington.
One of the two women was showing mild coronavirus symptoms before being tested, which she initially put down to a pre-existing condition. The another is symptom-free.
They are now restarting 14 days of isolation in the Wellington area on the property of another family member, who is also being tested. The parent’s funeral will be deferred until after their new 14-day quarantine is over.
Others potentially at risk of exposure include their fellow air passengers and staff at the isolation facility in Auckland.
Officials are also set to watch CCTV footage of the two women’s arrival at Auckland Airport to see if any border staff need to be isolated.
Passengers on the Air New Zealand flight will be moved to a ‘managed isolation facility’ and tested, Bloomfield said.
Australian health authorities are also on alert after the passengers flew from the UK to Brisbane via Qatar before connecting to New Zealand.
‘A new case is something we hoped we wouldn’t get but is also something we have expected and planned for,’ Bloomfield said.
‘That’s why we have geared up our contact tracing and testing capability to be able to respond rapidly.
‘We know there are people continuing to come to New Zealand from countries where there is active community spread of COVID-19. This is managed through our requirement for two weeks in isolation at the border.’
It is not known whether the two women are British citizens.
Since the two women arrived, a new rule has been imposed which requires anyone leaving isolation to be tested, he said.
In addition, people in isolation can no longer be exempted to attend a funeral since the limit on the number of guests was scrapped.
The two infections – the first newly identified cases since May 22 – take New Zealand’s total to 1,506. There have been 22 deaths.
Jacina Ardern (pictured, centre) speaks to the media on June 10, with New Zealand now reporting its first two cases of coronavirus for 24 days
Officials ended New Zealand’s strict coronavirus lockdown rules from midnight on June 8, after the country’s last ‘active’ patient was declared free of the virus.
The final patient, a woman in her 50s, recorded no symptoms for 48 hours, before being announced as recovered at St Margaret’s Hospital and Rest Home in Auckland.
PM Jacinda Ardern said the country had ‘united in unprecedented ways to crush the virus’.
Ms Ardern said the sacrifices made by New Zealanders, including a drastic seven-week lockdown that helped curb infection rates, had been rewarded.
Asked about her reaction upon hearing the news, she replied: ‘I did a little dance’ with baby daughter Neve.
‘She was caught a little by surprise but she joined in, having absolutely no idea why I was dancing around the lounge.’
The country has since moved to its lowest Alert Level 1, with minimal restrictions on public life – but strict controls still in place at the border.
Bloomfield said hundreds of people are still arriving in New Zealand every day and warned that ‘we’re not out of this yet’.
The move to Level 1 allowed weddings, funerals, hospitality and public transport to resume without any restrictions.
People eat at a restaurant in Auckland (pictured on May 16) after coronavirus lockdown restrictions were eased
New Zealand only confirmed its first case on February 26, but had shut its borders by March 19.
Gatherings of more than 100 people were also banned New Zealand from March 19, and schools, bars and restaurants were ordered to close from March 24.
Ardern announced a total Level 4 lockdown from March 26, at which point there were 363 confirmed cases.
The first stage of the lockdown kept Kiwis inside their houses, except for trips for health reasons or the supermarket.
The four-tier alert system meant that restrictions were slowly eased as the infection rate began to slow to a trickle.
The most recent death was announced on May 28, although that patient – a woman in her 90s – had tested negative for coronavirus by the time of her death.
Health officials said Covid-19 was ‘not recorded as the primary cause of her death’ but said they had included it in the figures ‘consistent with our inclusive approach’.
A nurse dons PPE while testing a person for COVID-19 at a drive through testing centre (pictured in Auckland on April 2)