Covid-19 community case

Australia suspends travel bubble with NZ for 72 hours

All New Zealanders who arrive in Australia will have to quarantine for up to 14 days.

Australia's Health Minister Greg Hunt says this has been done "out of an abundance of caution" after a person tested positive in New Zealand with the South African variant.

The infected person visited at least 30 locations.

The changes come into effect immediately.

All passengers from New Zealand with a safe zone flight scheduled in the next 72 hours should reconsider their need to travel.

New Zealand reports first case in the community in months

Health officials said a 56-year-old woman who had recently returned from Europe tested positive days after completing a compulsory two-week period of managed isolation.

Contact tracing efforts are under way, and authorities have published a list of locations the woman visited.

New Zealand has been widely praised for its response to the pandemic.

The country, with a population of five million, has recorded 1,927 confirmed cases and 25 deaths over the course of the pandemic.

Auckland community case lives next to managed isolation hotel

The person lives alone in the Vincent Residences, an apartment block in the CBD which is next to the Grand Millenium Hotel.

The hotel, which is a managed isolation facility, had a fire alarm evacuation on Monday night, but that evacuation is not likely to be the source of the infection because the woman became symptomatic that same day.

A Managed Isolation and Quarantine spokesperson earlier said guests were evacuated using strict infection control protocols including PPE, masks and physical distancing.