The traveller who was found to be infected with the coronavirus in New Zealand has contracted the extra contagious South African variant.
That’s why Australia has suspended quarantine-free travel for travellers from the nearby island nation for 72 hours.
The woman with the virus tested positive after a month-long stay in Europe. There she visited the Netherlands and Spain, according to local media. She was quarantined in a hotel after returning to her home country. There she repeatedly tested negative. She may have been infected in the quarantine hotel.
This corona infection is causing a lot of concern in New Zealand. That woman, while she had complaints, travelled across the country for days before being tested. Health Minister Chris Hipkins stressed that it is too early to say whether a new lockdown is necessary to prevent the virus from spreading.
In New Zealand, no local infections had been detected for over two months. The country with approximately 5 million inhabitants survived the virus outbreak relatively well. 25 corona patients died, and 1,927 infections were reported, much less than in other Western countries.