Otago University Public Health Professional Michael Baker has advised New Zealand rely on its contact tracing system as the first line of defence against the virus in the community following a hotel quarantine breach.
The nation is on high alert after a person tested positive for the South African strain of coronavirus following her departure from hotel quarantine.
The 56-year-old woman contracted the virus from a fellow traveler on her floor after returning two negative test results and almost 30 locations have been linked to her movements
Mr Baker said “like Australia we are pursuing elimination, so we don’t want to see any cases at all outside our managed isolation quarantine facilities".
He predicted that controlling quarantine facilities and ensuring the virus did not escape would become more difficult to the rise of more transmissible strains across the globe.
