All contacts of the border case believed to be at the heart of New Zealand's outbreak have tested negative twice, dashing the Government's hopes of finding the missing chain of transmission.
With 53 new cases of the Delta variant announced by the Ministry of Health today, this takes the country's total number of cases to more than 600.
The cluster has been epidemiologically linked back to a traveller who arrived from New South Wales who was carrying out their stint in managed isolation at the Crowne Plaza hotel.
Health officials initially believed the virus may have been passed on from the traveller while in an area of the hotel that while separated, was shared with an area where members of the public can pass through.
Six people were tracked down, having used the lobby at the same time as the case was in the vicinity, and tested for the virus.
However, the Ministry of Health announced Monday that all six had since returned a negative result for Covid-19 on their 12th day of isolating.
It's still unknown how the virus was spread into the community, with officials initially believing there was a strong possibility it was due to a breach at the border.
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