New Zealand identified the first community case of COVID-19 since November Sunday after a 56-year-old woman tested positive for the coronavirus strain believed to have originated in South Africa.
Officials announced that the woman had tested positive for COVID-19 after leaving her mandatory isolation for two weeks after returning to Europe on December 30 to work.
Prior to leaving the Auckland quarantine facility, the woman had twice tested negative for the virus, said COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins. according to Reuters.
Authorities said they believe the woman contracted a partner’s most contagious strain at the isolation facility. Hipkins said officials were examining whether the virus could have spread through ventilation and air conditioning systems.
Officials found 15 close contacts with the woman, and the closest contacts, her husband and the hairdresser, had been negative. The test results from the other contacts were expected to return on Monday, The Guardian reported.
New Zealand last documented a COVID-19 community broadcast in November, Reuters reported citing the Ministry of Health website.
The country is known to have one of the strictest responses to the pandemic and has recorded 2,283 cases and 25 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Community transmission occurs as several variants of the coronavirus spread around the world, including a strain believed to be more contagious, originally discovered in the United Kingdom. The South African variant, which is 50% more infectious, has been found in at least 20 countries.
US President Biden is expected to do so ban non-US citizens who had visited South Africa in the last two weeks since entry and re-established restrictions on travelers from several countries, including the UK