Yet, the virus is still leaking out.
The other forms of transmission appear to be causing the “edge” cases we’re seeing, something Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been keen to point out.
These forms of transmission are, of course, likely still happening around the world. But in countries where regular or airborne transmission is so prevalent they don’t have time to look, and have so many cases it really doesn’t matter.
“What we are seeing [here in New Zealand] is the virus spreading through human error, or through holes in our system, or through these very rare events,’’ says Microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles.