A St Lukes mall worker with Covid-19 potentially caught the virus while travelling on a bus according to Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield.
The case - which is still under investigation - has now been linked to the Auckland cluster, Dr Bloomfield announced at the 1pm briefing.
"However, there is no known epidemiological link at this time and investigations continue into the source of exposure," he said.
"One specific line of inquiry is that this case and another case may have been on the same bus and I’d like to take this opportunity to remind everybody of the importance of wearing masks when particularly in places like public transport where it is difficult to maintain physical distancing."
On questioning, Dr Bloomfield revealed the bus journey in question happened on on the morning of August 12, before Auckland went into Alert Level 3, but more details on it are not yet known.
Auckland Transport HOP cards used on busses help provide information for contact tracing purposes according to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
The news comes as there are nine new cases of Covid-19 in the community today.
Dr Bloomfield also confirmed there were two new imported cases of the virus today.
The 11 new cases bring New Zealand's confirmed cases of the virus since the pandemic began to 1315.
There are currently 105 active cases of the virus.
There are eight people in hospitals with the illness, made up of two at Auckland City Hospital, one in North Shore Hospital and five at Middlemore Hospital. Seven people are in a stable condition and one person is in intensive care at Middlemore Hospital.
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