The Ministry of Health has confirmed there is a second Omicron case who has been in the community - an Air New Zealand crew member who worked on a flight between Auckland and Sydney.
Photo: camfoto/123RF
In today's statement, where it was revealed there were 60 new community cases in New Zealand, the Ministry said the second Omicron case who had been in the community flew in on Christmas Eve and were tested for Covid-19 in routine surveillance testing on 27 December.
"Whole genome sequencing has confirmed the Omicron variant and has also confirmed the case is linked to three other Omicron cases on the same flight.
They have been transferred to a MIQ facility.
"The case is fully vaccinated. Eight close contacts have been identified, seven of whom have returned negative test results. At this stage, there are no known locations of interest."
Last night, UK DJ Robert Etheridge, or DJ Dimension, in a social media post owned up to being New Zealand's first community Omicron case.
Scheduled to perform at the Rhythm and Alps festival in Wanaka, Etheridge ended a 10-day period of isolation without receiving his final Covid-19 test result.
He visited several locations of interest, including Waiheke Island, as well as a nightclub and restaurant in Auckland.
Speaking to media this morning, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said the development had not changed plans for Auckland and all other red regions, except Northland, to move to the orange setting at 11.59pm tonight.
Etheridge has apologised on social media after visiting a city nightclub and bar, restaurants and a jewellers.
"I want to reiterate my apologies to those who I have inadvertently put at risk as a result of my misunderstandings," he wrote in an Instagram post.
"I realise the gravity of the situation and I am deeply regretful to those who have been impacted; including members of the public, event organisers and close contacts."
Health officials questioned Etheridge this morning to determine if there are any further locations of interest.
"We understand they travelled by private car and ferry to the island. While on the ferry they did not leave their vehicle and travelled straight to their accommodation," the ministry said in a statement.
Etheridge has removed Christmas Day photos posted on social media, after being the target of hate and abuse online.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said people leaving MIQ hotels were given clear instructions to stay in home isolation until they had received all test results.
"We ask people during that period of time to only have contact with people in their isolation bubble. That hasn't been the case here, and that's really disappointing," he said.
Health officials are trying to identify the source of his infection, with genome sequencing showing no link between three cases in the same Grand Mercure MIQ hotel.
