The Ministry of Health (MoH) has announced a worker at the Grand Millennium managed isolation facility – who is a close contact of the case reported on Thursday – has tested positive for COVID-19.

Because the new case has been self-isolating at home since being identified as a close contact late last week, there is considered to be very little additional risk to the community. They returned an earlier negative test before returning a positive test today.

This worker and their partner have this afternoon moved to the Auckland quarantine facility.

Whole Genome Sequencing

The results of whole genome sequencing for the case reported late on Thursday have now been received and show a genomic link with a cleaner at the Grand Millennium who tested positive for COVID-19 on March 21 and has been previously reported.

The cleaner, known as Case A, and the worker who tested positive last week, are genomically linked to a returnee who arrived back in New Zealand on March 13.

Due to this genomic link with the cleaner, Case A, the worker who tested positive last week will be known as Case B. The investigation into how COVID-19 was transmitted to Case B is ongoing. Today’s new case will be referred to as Case C.

Locations of interest update:

Case investigations are continuing, and further locations of interest are being confirmed.

Early indications are the majority of these contacts will be considered casual only.

Details of these locations and information for people who visited them during the relevant timeframes will continue to be updated on the Ministry’s website.

The Ministry will also send out push notifications to people who logged on with the COVID Tracer app at any locations of interest. The alert will advise users that they may have been in contact with COVID-19 and direct them to additional information on the website here COVID-19: Contact tracing locations of interest.

Next update

The Ministry’s next update is planned for 1pm tomorrow (Monday 12 April) - The Central App will keep you updated as we are informed.