Three close contacts of New Zealand's first Omicron case have tested positive for COVID-19 and two may have the new variant.
On Thursday, health officials confirmed a case of the Omicron variant had showed up in a German resident within NZ's hotel quarantine.
In an attempt to ringfence the case, a wide net of close contacts has been drawn, and additional testing ordered.
Three of the 75 passengers on the same charter flight, taken from Auckland to Christchurch, as the case also have COVID-19: one has the Delta variant and two others are being investigated further.
Omicron is not yet found in the community, and Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said it an outbreak of Omicron was "by no means inevitable".
"We'll continue to do everything we can to make sure we keep Omicron either out of the country or at the border if it does come on a flight," he told Radio NZ.
The Ministry of Health is poised to recommend a shorter lead-in time for fully vaccinated Kiwis to get a booster shot, in preparation for Omicron's possible arrival.
On Friday, health officials reported 76 community COVID-19 cases in New Zealand, including 47 in Auckland, 15 in the Waikato and 10 in the Bay of Plenty.
There are 51 people in hospital with COVID-19 - most of whom are unvaccinated - and five in intensive care.
