The latest community Covid-19 patient is highly likely to have caught the disease directly from a person on the same floor as her in managed isolation.
In a news briefing this afternoon, minister in charge of the Covid-19 response Chris Hipkins said genomic testing has shown the 56-year-old woman has the South African variant of the disease (B.1.3.5.1.) and that it is identical to another person staying on the same floor as her at the Pullman Hotel.
That person tested positive shortly before the woman left the hotel at the end of her stay. Early information suggests the transmission occurred between 9 January and 13 January.