A person who flew from Auckland to Sydney earlier this month has tested positive for COVID-19, Australian health officials say.
The New South Wales government has confirmed they were traveling on Air New Zealand flight NZ103 on the July 6 and now have the virus.
Anyone sitting in rows 22 to 26 are considered close contacts. The Ministry of Health here says they've spoken to the person who tested positive.
"At this point, it appears the person may have been a previously unconfirmed case from March and this is responsible for the positive test result," a spokesperson told Stuff.
"We will continue to fully investigate the circumstances of this positive result, including travel history."
Auckland Regional Public Health is following up with close contacts here in New Zealand.
It's not clear when the person was tested after touching down on July 6. Like New Zealand, Australia - which is experiencing a new outbreak of the virus - has a quarantine system for people arriving in the country. People are tested on days two and 12.
It's also not clear yet if the passenger was Australian or a New Zealander with Australian residency, who are allowed into the country.
The Sydney positive test is the second in a person who's left New Zealand for another country. Earlier this month, a person who arrived in South Korea tested positive - but it's not clear if they picked the virus up here or in Singapore, where they stopped over.
"Contacts of the person have been traced and referred for testing since the day health officials found out about the case," a Ministry of Health spokesperson said. "The public health risk continues to be low."
