Five Air New Zealand flights have now been linked as the source of nine Covid cases in the Nelson and Tasman regions.
It comes as an Air New Zealand crew member has been named as the source of the outbreak.
An Auckland - Nelson flight and four other flights the crew member worked on during their possible infectious period prior to their testing positive are now listed as locations of interest.
The flights are:
Flight NZ 5083 from Auckland to Nelson at 5.20 pm on 16 January
Flight NZ 5080 from Nelson to Auckland at 4 pm on 19 January
Flight NZ 5077 from Auckland to Nelson at 2pm on 19 January
Flight NZ 5049 from Auckland to New Plymouth at 7.50 pm on 19 January
Flight NZ 5042 from New Plymouth to Auckland at 1.50 pm on 20 January
Air New Zealand says the crew member is fully vaccinated, and the positive case was found after the crew member felt unwell and was tested on top of the regular surveillance testing.
Those on the affected flights are in the process of being contacted and provided with advice from the Ministry of Health.
Whole genome sequencing for the Nelson Tasman cases and the Air New Zealand crew member are expected later on Saturday.
The nine Nelson Tasman cases are all from one household.
Eight of the cases were notified on Friday after the Ministry’s reporting deadline and are on Saturday being added to the official tally.
There are no additional new cases to report in the region on Saturday.
The ministry says case interviews continue with genome sequencing is expected later on Saturday to identify the variant. Public health officials continue to investigate recent travel to Auckland as the source of their infections.
Anyone who was on the affected flights and who has not yet been contacted has been advised to get tested and isolate at home.
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