Health officials are responding to what is believed to be a new case of COVID-19 in the community in Northland.
A spokesperson for COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed the infection was being treated as a probable case.
"Health officials are currently investigating the case and will provide the minister with the latest information this afternoon," said the spokesperson.
Further details will be provided in a press conference on Sunday, a Ministry of Health spokeswoman confirmed to Newshub.
Hipkins and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield will front the press conference at 4pm.
In its regular 1pm case update, the Ministry of Health confirmed a person had tested positive for the virus after departing a MIQ facility.
"We are also investigating a positive test result in a person who has departed from a MIQ facility," said the statement.
"More details will be provided at a media stand-up today at 4pm at the Beehive Theatrette."
It's understood the case involves a woman who was released from an MIQ facility roughly five days ago, according to the New Zealand Herald. New arrivals are tested at around day 12 of their mandatory 14-day stay in managed isolation, and are able to leave the facility if they return a negative result.
However, it is possible for a person to be infected at the facility following their last test result - and could be incubating the virus when they leave.
Since reports of the probable case emerged on Sunday afternoon, Hipkins has clarified there is not yet any evidence of community "transmission" in Northland - reiterating the difference between community transmission and a case in the community.
"It's still most likely this is a border case," he said, as reported by the Herald.
Eight cases of COVID-19 have been detected in managed isolation over the past 48 hours, the ministry confirmed.
The first case arrived from South Africa on January 9 via the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia. The person had been presenting symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and tested positive on day 13 of their mandatory 14-day stay in managed isolation.
The second case, from the United Kingdom, also arrived on January 9 via the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia. They too tested positive on day 13 after presenting symptoms of the virus.
The third case arrived on January 17 from the United Arab Emirates and tested positive due to routine testing at around day five.
The fourth and fifth cases arrived on January 18 from the US, the latter via Hong Kong, and tested positive due to routine testing at around day three.
The sixth case arrived on January 19 from Ethiopia via the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia and tested positive due to routine testing at around day three.
The seventh arrived on January 21 from South Africa via Brisbane and Qatar and tested positive on arrival.
The last imported case travelled from India via the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia and also tested positive on arrival in New Zealand.
All eight cases are currently quarantining in Auckland.
One previously reported case has now recovered, bringing the total number of active cases to 79. New Zealand's total number of confirmed cases stands at 1927.
The total number of tests processed by laboratories to date is 1,487,234.
The last case of community transmission in New Zealand was reported on November 18.
