New Zealand PM Ardern is self isolating after exposure to COVID positive case

FILE PHOTO: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern addresses her supporters at a Labour Party event in Wellington, New Zealand, October 11, 2020. REUTERS/Praveen Menon

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has gone into self-isolation until Tuesday after being deemed a close contact of a person who tested positive for COVID-19, the government said.

The exposure took place on Jan 22 during a flight to Auckland from the town of Kerikeri, the government said in a statement on Saturday, adding that the result of whole genome sequencing was expected the following day.