New Zealand PM in self-isolation as deemed close contact

Special: Battle Against Novel Coronavirus

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced in a statement on Saturday that she has been deemed a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case, and has entered self-isolation in line with a Ministry of Health advice.

The exposure event took place on Jan. 22 during flight NZ8273 from Kerikeri to Auckland. The flight has been added to the Ministry of Health website as a location of interest.

Whole genome sequencing for the case has been requested with an expected result on Sunday. The result is expected to indicate that the case has been infected with the Omicron variant and the public health response reflects this.

The prime minister is asymptomatic and is feeling well. In line with the Ministry of Health advice, she will be tested immediately on Sunday and will isolate until Tuesday, according to the statement.

New Zealand's Governor-General Cindy Kiro and members of her staff were also on board, and are following the same isolation instructions.

The prime minister and the governor-general were in Northland undertaking advance filming at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, at the invitation of the Waitangi National Trust for the Waitangi Day broadcast.

New Zealand reported 97 new community cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, the Ministry of Health said.

The country has recorded 15,770 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, including 11,811 cases from the current community outbreak.

New Zealand is currently at the highest Red settings under the COVID-19 Protection Framework. At Red settings, face masks become mandatory in many indoor environments, and gatherings are limited to 100 people.