The Ministry of Health says a test taken yesterday in Auckland has returned positive today for a person currently in Katikati.
File photo. Photo: STUFF/ David White
The town is currently in alert level 2.
In a statement, the Ministry said the person lives in Pukekohe and is in the process of moving to a rural area north of Katikati.
"The test result has a high CT value usually seen in the early or late stage of infection and is under further investigation, including a repeat test," the ministry said.
"The person has been permitted to cross the boundary in and out of Auckland as they are in the process of shifting house.
"As part of this, the individual has been having regular surveillance testing - at least five tests have been taken since the beginning of September, the most recent prior test was 5 October. All five of those tests were negative."
The ministry said the person was a consistent user of the contacting tracing app which will help identify any places of interest.
The person is fully vaccinated and has reported no symptoms, apart from seasonal hayfever and a resultant runny nose.
Members of the individual's family have been contacted and are currently isolating. Results are expected tomorrow.
"The current public health assessment is that the risk appears low given the person's vaccination status, regular test history, good use of the app and rapid contact, testing and isolation of family members," the ministry said.
The Bay of Plenty DHB's chief executive Pete Chandler expected any changes to the region's alert level 2 status to hinge on the person's movements.
"We understand that the person involved was a good, comphrensive scanner and so it's likely we'll be able to get a good sense of their movements across the western Bay of Plenty."
Chandler said a case in the region is currently preparing for cases to emerge.
"You can see a wave of Covid-19 cases moving across the country, so we're as ready as we can possibly be."