The Ministry of Health has confirmed there is a second Omicron case who has been in the community - an Air New Zealand crew member who worked on a flight between Auckland and Sydney.

They flew in on Christmas Eve and were tested for Covid-19 in routine surveillance testing on 27 December, said the Ministry.

"Whole genome sequencing has confirmed the Omicron variant and has also confirmed the case is linked to three other Omicron cases on the same flight.

The case was immediately transferred to a MIQ facility.

"The case is fully vaccinated. Eight close contacts have been identified, seven of whom have returned negative test results. At this stage, there are no known locations of interest."

- more to come