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 under strict conditions to attend the parent’s funeral, officials said.
They tested positive 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 their connecting flight from Brisbane and staff at their ‘managed isolation hotel’ are now being traced as officials try to prevent a new outbreak.
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
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’.
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 is showing mild coronavirus symptoms, while another is symptom-free.
They are now self-isolating in the Wellington area on the property of another family member, who is also being tested.
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.’
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 – stake New Zealand’s total to 1,506. There have been 22 deaths.
Protesters are seen in Wellington on June 14 (pictured), when there were no active coronavirus cases in the country
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’.
Art galleries are open across New Zealand (pictured, Te Papa in Wellington on March 28) after coronavirus restrictions were lifted
A woman is seen heading to work on June 9 (pictured) in Wellington as New Zealand returned to normality
People eat at a restaurant in Auckland (pictured on May 16) after coronavirus lockdown restrictions were eased
The move allowed weddings, funerals, hospitality and public transport to resume without any restrictions.
New Zealand’s borders have remained shut, after closing on March 19.
The country was forced into a strict four-week lockdown in March to slow the spread of the deadly virus.
The government implemented a four-tier alert system where restrictions were slowly eased as the infection rate began to slow.
The first stage of the lockdown kept Kiwis inside their houses, except for trips for health reasons or the supermarket.
New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern (pictured), had previously announced there were no active cases of coronavirus left in the country
A nurse dons PPE while testing a person for COVID-19 at a drive through testing centre (pictured in Auckland on April 2)