5647 cases, BA.5 type detected

There were 5647 new Covid-19 community cases announced yesterday, while three more people had died with the virus, and 350 were in hospital.

A person who travelled to New Zealand also had the BA.5 variant of Omicron.

It was the first known detection of the variant in New Zealand, the Ministry of Health said.

The person, who arrived from South Africa on April 26, returned a positive RAT from their day 5/6 test on May 1, and a positive PCR sample taken on May 2.

Whole genome sequencing, undertaken as part of ongoing border surveillance for emerging variants, confirmed the BA.5 variant, the ministry said.

The BA.4 variant had also been detected on May 1, also in a person who travelled from South Africa.

‘‘At this stage, the public health settings already in place to manage other Omicron variants are assessed to be appropriate for managing both BA.4 and BA.5, and no changes are required,’’ the ministry said.

‘‘The arrival of the BA.5 subvariant in New Zealand is not unexpected.’’