Five new arrivals have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, all of whom travelled from India via Qatar, the Ministry of Health said in an update on Monday.
The update comes as further testing of Wellington's wastewater is underway after two samples returned weak positive results for COVID-19.
On Sunday, it was confirmed that traces of the virus had been detected in Wellington's wastewater two days in a row.
A spokesperson for the ministry confirmed additional samples have been collected from the sewage and the results are expected on Tuesday evening - however, health officials remain unconcerned.
The ministry believes fragments of the virus are being shed by recently recovered cases, who have returned to their homes in Wellington after being discharged from quarantine.
"It is likely the two weak positive results are due to recently recovered cases continuing to shed the virus," the spokesperson reiterated on Monday.
"Results from the new samples are expected to be available on Tuesday evening."
The ministry is urging anyone in the Wellington region who is presenting symptoms consistent with COVID-19 to seek a test promptly.
"This advice also applies to recent visitors to the Wellington region. Anyone who develops symptoms consistent with COVID-19 should call Healthline (0800 358 5453) or their doctor, or visit a testing station to get a test."
On Monday, epidemiologist Michael Baker called for a review of wastewater testing to determine its effectiveness at picking up COVID-19 outbreaks.
Speaking to Morning Report, Baker said the weak positive results demonstrate the testing's efficacy at finding virus fragments, but its role in detecting active outbreaks is still unclear.
"The system is good at picking up actively infectious cases in a particular area but we really don't know how large that number would need to be to trigger a positive result," Baker said.
"At the moment the role of sewage testing is still a bit unclear in terms of whether it is going to give us a big edge, or whether it will mainly pick up outbreaks that are already apparent through other means."
Five new cases in managed isolation
In the past 24 hours, five new arrivals have tested positive for COVID-19 in managed isolation facilities.
No new cases of COVID-19 have been detected in the community.
All five returnees travelled from India via Qatar, four of which arrived on Saturday. The first arrived on Friday.
All returned their positive results due to routine testing on arrival or on day one of managed isolation. They are currently quarantining in Auckland.
Six previously reported cases have also recovered, bringing the total number of active cases to 18. To date, the country has recorded a total of 2295 confirmed cases of the virus.
Since January 1, 2021, 479 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in New Zealand. However, 60 of those have been classified as historical infections, meaning the individuals had recovered - and were therefore not contagious - at the time of their positive result.
To date, laboratories have processed 2,082,570 tests, 2217 of which were completed on Sunday. For all testing locations nationwide, visit the Healthpoint website.
