New Zealand health officials have confirmed a fresh community case of Covid-19 in Auckland, just two days after the country celebrated its largely virus-free status by approving a travel bubble with Australia.
There was no suggestion New Zealand's largest city would again be put into lockdown or the travel bubble plan revised. But Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern immediately announced a temporary halt to travel into the country from India, the departure point for most infected arrivals in recent weeks, shutting out New Zealand nationals for the first time since the pandemic emerged.
The new patient is a security guard at a coronavirus quarantine hotel for returning Kiwis. He had not been vaccinated, but his only known contact outside the hotel