There is one new coronavirus case in New Zealand, the Ministry of Health has revealed - but it's not linked to the November quarantine cluster.
The case is in a managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) facility, and was detected during day three testing after arriving in the country from Singapore last Wednesday, November 11.
They have now been transferred to the Jet Park Hotel, Auckland's quarantine facility.
Meanwhile one previously confirmed case from an MIQ facility has been reclassified as under investigation, as it is a suspected historical case.
There are 58 active cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand - five of which are in the community, and another 53 at the border.
The total number of confirmed and probable cases now stands at 2001.
Link between Auckland case and NZDF worker still unclear
An investigation into the epidemiological link between a New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) worker infected at the Jet Park Hotel earlier this month and a central Auckland shop assistant who tested positive last week is still underway.
The pair - known as Case A and Case D respectively - share an identical genome sequence, meaning the latter is likely to have been infected directly by the NZDF employee.
"The investigation is now focused on identifying the exposure event that links the two people, if possible," a Ministry of Health press release reads.
Case E, a close contact of Case D's who lived in the same Auckland CBD apartment building and tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday, has now been confirmed to have been infected by Case D.
"Whole genome sequencing from Case E has now been completed and indicates the same lineage as Case D, with one additional mutation. This tells us that Case E contracted the virus from Case D," the ministry explained.
"We have currently identified 11 close contacts of Case E, and nine of those have returned a negative test result, with two pending. Case E has been at the Auckland quarantine facility since November 12."
