An Air New Zealand worker is confirmed to have Covid-19, after returning a positive test result in China and again in Auckland.
Despite the positive test in China, the person was only being treated as a "suspected" case until the tests came back from the New Zealand lab.
Today the Ministry of Health confirmed those results have come back positive and will be included in tomorrow's case total.
Genome sequencing is also underway to see if it can be matched to any known cases.
The Air New Zealand worker arrived back from China today, along with seven close contacts and six casual contacts from the flight to China.
All seven close contacts have been moved to the Jet Park quarantine facility in Auckland, as well as the confirmed case.
Four other close contacts are in self- or managed-isolation, the Ministry of Health says.
Not all of the test results from the close contacts have been processed, but those that have are negative.
The Ministry of Health says "out of an abundance of caution", the case has been treated as if it were a confirmed case in New Zealand.
That includes listing various locations of interest the worker visited while they were potentially infectious.
Yesterday, people who were at one of those locations, Animates Manukau last Saturday between 1.22pm and 2.11pm, were asked to get tested regardless of symptoms and isolate until their results returned.
The crew member has been in isolation since testing positive on arrival in Shanghai yesterday.
Staff at the Resene paint store in Mt Roskill have been advised to do the same.
Today, the Ministry of Health says anyone who visited a location of interest should watch for symptoms and isolate and get tested if they develop any.
Anyone who develops Covid-19 symptoms at all have previously been advised to isolate and get tested.
The Ministry of Health is also encouraging people to use the COVID Tracer app, after an update intended to make it easier to use.
Less than 10 people had scanned into the Animates store at the same time as the now-confirmed case.
The person had returned a negative coronavirus test just days before leaving New Zealand.
"This is a useful reminder to everyone to continue to regularly use the COVID Tracer app to scan into any places they visit each day," the Ministry of Health says.
"Please continue to use the app to scan into locations displaying a QR code – you never know when you will need to call on your contact tracing diary. The more every person scans, the safer we will all be."
The Air New Zealand worker was not included in today's case total; there are eight new Covid-19 cases in New Zealand today, all in managed isolation.
LOCATIONS OF INTEREST FOR AIR NEW ZEALAND WORKER
Friday, November 20: BP Connect Mangere, 9.28am-9.35am. Resene Mt Roskill, 11.45am-12.15pm. Countdown Papatoetoe, 7.09am-7.22pm. New World Old Papatoetoe, 7.29pm-7.43pm.
Saturday, November 21: Pharmacy at Countdown Greenlane, 12.34pm-12.42pm. Animates Manukau 1.20pm-2.11pm.
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