Community Covid19 testing will take place in Christchurch this weekend following concerns over the South Korea case.

The Ministry of Health says there continues to be no evidence of transmission in New Zealand involving the traveller who tested positive for COVID-19 on arrival in South Korea.

All domestic contacts of this case tested to date have returned negative results. 

However, In a statement, the Ministry of Health says while these results reinforce that the public health risk from this case continues to be low, further contact tracing is taking place around their travel within New Zealand, including their visit to the Queenstown area in early July, the South Auckland area where they were based and Christchurch where they departed from.

This weekend district health boards will stand up a targeted testing surveillance programme in the Queenstown, South Auckland and Christchurch – these locations are connected to the case in South Korea. 

The Ministry of Health says this person was in Manurewa and Takanini in South Auckland on 20 June – 20 July, Queenstown on 1-4 July and in and around Christchurch Airport on 20-21 July. 

If you have, or may have had symptoms, please contact Healthline or your GP for an assessment for testing. The COVID-19 assessment and COVID-19 testing are both free. 

People who may have been in those areas around those dates but have now moved elsewhere can also call Healthline for further advice about getting tested.

Anyone concerned about their health as a result of this update can call Healthline on 0800 358 5453.