Urgent genome sequencing in the case of an Air New Zealand crew member with Covid-19 could provide more clues to where they got infected.
The person tested positive during routine screening in China and was flown home yesterday on a freight flight to avoid contact with other passengers.
The crew member and seven of their close contacts are now in quarantine at Auckland Jet Park Hotel.
Health officials have been investigating and tracing the case as if it were a confirmed community case in New Zealand.
ESR is racing to complete the genome sequence for this case and will compare it to others on a database.
"We have an almost complete picture of everything that is around in the country. But there's still the very small possibility that it is something that we haven't picked up yet in the community," ESR scientist Dr Joep de Ligt told Checkpoint.
