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The Health Ministry said earlier today that the person’s case was under investigation, but serological tests carried out today have shown the presence of antibodies that further confirm that it is a historical infection.
A PCR test performed today also came back negative.
The person arrived from the United States and spent 14 days in a managed isolation facility in Auckland, where two negative tests returned and they were asymptomatic, before leaving on September 21.
This week, the person sought medical attention after feeling unwell, and a subsequent test for Covid-19 returned a weak positive result.
An acute respiratory illness not associated with Covid-19 can sometimes create a situation where residual particles of the Covid-19 virus are detected when a sample is taken.
However, the ministry says there is no risk to the public and international research shows that people with a historical Covid-19 infection are not infectious.
As a result, the ministry says no further management of close or casual contacts is required.
The ministry also revealed today that there are four new cases of Covid-19 in managed isolation.
The first imported case arrived from the Philippines via Hong Kong on October 3 and was transferred to a managed isolation facility in Auckland.
They tested positive as part of routine testing on the 12th and were transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility.
The second imported case arrived from Peru via Mexico and the United States on October 10 and was transferred to a managed isolation facility in Christchurch.
They tested positive as part of routine testing on day 3.
The third and fourth imported cases arrived from Hong Kong on October 11 and were taken to a managed isolation facility in Auckland. They tested positive as part of routine testing on day 3 and were transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility.
The total number of active cases was 46, all imported cases. There were no active community cases of Covid-19.
More details on the alleged historical case under investigation are expected to be released today.
Yesterday, the labs processed 5,078 tests, bringing the total number of tests completed to date to 1,021,931.
– additional reports NZ Herald
