A person who's tested positive for COVID-19 visited a pub last week, prompting officials to urge anyone who was there to self-isolate.
University of Otago infectious disease expert David Murdoch told The AM Show on Thursday "incursions" like this are to be expected, but the tracing system is doing its job.
"It's a concern to hear that a contact may have been in a crowded pub - the indoor crowd situation is one we get concerned about because it can lead to further transmission."
He said while no one wants to see any cases in New Zealand, "that's just not going to happen".
"We will occasionally see cases come through the border. We just have to have the system to respond. You could argue that what we're seeing is the system working."
Watch the full interview.
