Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, said that she was self-isolating after having  close contact with a personal friend who was Covid-19 positive.

According to media reports, the exposure occurred on January 22 on flight NZ8273 from Kerikeri to Auckland. The flight has been listed as a point of interest on the Ministry of Health's website. The Ministry stated in a statement that whole genome sequencing for the case has been ordered, with a result due on Sunday. The result is likely to show that the case was infected with the Omicron form, and the public health response will reflect this.

The Prime Minister is symptom-free and in excellent health. According to the statement, she will be checked immediately on Sunday and will be isolated until Tuesday, in accordance with Ministry of Health guidelines.

Governor-General Cindy Kiro of New Zealand and members of her staff were also on board and are being kept in isolation as well. Ardern and Kiro were in Northland doing preliminary filming for the Waitangi Day show at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, at the request of the Waitangi National Trust.

On Saturday, the Ministry of Health in New Zealand confirmed 97 new community cases of Covid-19. Since the start of the epidemic, the country has had 16,146 cases of Covid-19, with 52 deaths.

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