One case arrived on 5 January from the United Kingdom via the United Arab Emirates and Australia. UK variant detectedAll positive Covid-19 tests in New Zealand are sent to ESR for whole genome sequencing as part of our overall elimination strategy. The Ministry of Health can confirm that an additional two cases of Covid-19 have been found to match the recently identified UK variant of Covid-19 known as 20B/501Y.V1 (Lineage B.1.1.7). "This brings the total number of (Lineage B.1.1.7) variant cases sequenced in New Zealand to eight." These people are all cared for with the same high level of infection prevention measures as all Covid-19 positive cases, with daily health checks and use of PPE.

Source: Otago Daily Times January 07, 2021 00:11 UTC