New Zealand records first community exposures from border-related Omicron case

FILE PHOTO: An employee opens a store for business as shoppers return to the Newmarket retail district in the wake of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lockdown restrictions being eased in Auckland, New Zealand, November 10, 2021. REUTERS/Fiona Goodall

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand said on Wednesday that a person who tested positive for the Omicron variant of COVID-19 had briefly been active in the community in Auckland.

The person arrived in New Zealand from the United Kingdom on Dec 16 but only tested positive on Dec 17, the health ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said the person was in Auckland city on Dec 26 and Dec 27, but that they do not believe the individual was highly infectious at the time of exposure.

New Zealand has no Omicrom cases in its community yet and has recorded 17 cases at its border quarantine facilities

(Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)