Ashley Bloomfield says the prisoner who tested positive for Covid-19 while on bail in the Waikato was likely infected by a member of the "small group" that transported him from Mt Eden Prison to his bail address at Kaiaua/Whakatīwai.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said work was still being done to establish a timeline of the prisoner's trip from the prison to the address on September 8.
Ardern said the prisoner was not infected at the time they had been picked up from the prison, and it was understood he had contracted the virus by one of the people transporting him to the address.
While she could not confirm, Ardern alluded to the possibility that the infected person had joined the journey along the way, which would be in breach of the prisoner's bail conditions.
"What we're trying to ascertain is whether the person who picked them up took them straight there [to their bail address]," Ardern said.
However, Ardern said the prisoner remained at the address once he arrived, and therefore had not been infectious in the community.
In a statement, Chief District Court Judge Heemi Taumaunu said releasing the prisoner to an address outside an Alert Level 4 boundary was in line with the Bail Act and public health order.
The person had been in custody at Mt Eden Prison since April 27 until they were released on electronically monitored bail on September 8.
"Whether or not to grant a person bail is a decision made by the presiding judge," Taumaunu said.
"In this case, the judge was satisfied that the grant of electronically monitored bail and the proposed bail address were appropriate."
A family member was required to collect him from the prison and transport him directly to the bail address at Kaiaua/Whakatīwai, Waikato with no unnecessary stops. His conditions also required him to not leave the address without prior approval.
So far, three household contacts of the prisoner have tested positive and moved to a quarantine facility.
"At least one of the young people was symptomatic at school on Thursday. The school has been closed and parents have been contacted," the Ministry of Health said on Sunday evening.
In an update on Monday, the ministry said the final household member of the northern Hauraki house where the remand prisoner stayed had been tested and results were pending.
Further tests, including whole genome sequencing of the first close contacts, are due on Tuesday.
The five further household members isolating at home returned negative results on Sunday, with the ministry confident they have not been infectious in the community.
To date negative results have been returned from testing of close contacts among prison staff, other prisoners, police and court staff.
A pop-up testing centre in the northern Hauraki town of Wharekawa marae in Whakatīwai has been busy on Monday, testing locals. Waikato DHB reports 340 tests have been taken as of 2pm on Monday.
The small community has been given a Section 70 stay-at-home order which remains in place for the next five days as the ministry continues its contact tracing.
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