Wellington, Nov. 12, (dpa/GNA) – Workers in the central business district of New Zealand’s largest city have been asked to work from home after the country announced a new Covid-19 case on Thursday.
It is the first case of Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, with no known link to the border since August.
An Auckland woman in her 20s tested positive for the disease and health officials were still working to uncover how she came to be infected, director of public health Caroline McElnay told a press conference.
Auckland Central workers should now work from home if possible, or wear a mask if not, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said.
He said New Zealand remained in a “very strong” position to contain the disease.
“Covid-19 is raging around the rest of the world and it will continue to be an increased threat for some time.”
The woman lives next to a managed isolation hotel which had been evacuated due to a fire alarm earlier in the week, McElnay said.
There were concerns those in the hotel may have “mingled” with residents on the street.
“However this is not likely to be a source of infection for this case as she was already symptomatic,” McElnay said, adding that the woman works as a shop assistant.
According to McElnay, although she received advice to isolate, the woman went to work and wore a mask after speaking with her manager.
New Zealand also reported two other cases of Covid-19 linked to the border on Thursday, taking the country’s total to 1,635 cases, with 53 active cases.
GNA