WELLINGTON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - New Zealand's health authorities on Thursday conducted further tests and began contact tracing efforts after two more cases of the South African variant of COVID-19 were confirmed in the country's largest city Auckland.
Both cases were returned travellers in hotel quarantine who were released after returning negative tests following their 14-day isolation.
They had stayed at the same New Zealand hotel at the same time as the first case of coronavirus in the country in over two months that was confirmed on Monday.
"While we still can't categorically rule these out as historical infections, test results so far indicate the two people may have contracted COVID-19 towards the end of their stay in managed isolation, after returning two negative tests each during their stay”, Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said in a statement late on Wednesday.
They are being treated as confirmed cases out of caution, he said, adding that Genome sequencing results and serology results will help develop the picture further.
The health ministry released a list of locations of interest in Auckland, and asked people who visited those locations to isolated and get tested.
New Zealand has largely avoided the high numbers of infections and deaths from the virus as seen in many other nations. Its largest city Auckland was put into lockdown for weeks in August last year after new cases were reported.
The likelihood of another lockdown was low at this point but things could change, the COVID-19 response minister Chris Hipkins told the AM Show on Thursday.
The new cases could further delay neighbouring Australia reopening the quarantine-free travel arrangement with New Zealand. The 'travel bubble' was suspended for 72 hours after New Zealand's first case in months was confirmed on Monday.
Australia's Acting Chief of Health Officer Michael Kidd said more information about the new cases is needed before a decision on travel arrangements would be made, Australian media reported on Wednesday.