(Reuters) – New Zealand health authorities said on Sunday they were investigating a case of Coronavirus Pandemic that may be the first community-recorded case of the disease in more than two months.
The 56-year-old woman, who lives in the North Island and was initially confirmed, had been in isolation for two weeks after returning home on the 30th of last month, during which time she tested negative twice
She tested positive again a few days after returning home, and health authorities are investigating in the direction of assuming she is a confirmed case, as well as having contracted a more contagious variant of the virus.
It is unclear how the woman was infected and whether it was a first-time infection.
The health department is treating her as a “probable community infection” because she was initially diagnosed several days after her isolation ended.
WHO data show that New Zealand, with a population of about 5 million, is one of the most stable developed countries in the world, with fewer than 2,000 confirmed cases so far, and the last community infection was recorded on Nov. 18 last year.
