"Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has tested positive for COVID-19. She has been in isolation since Sunday 8 May when her partner Clarke Gayford tested positive," the government said in a statement.
The prime minister has demonstrated symptoms of the disease since late Friday, according to the statement.
“I’m gutted to miss being there in person, but will be staying in close touch with the team and sharing some reckons from here,” Ardern wrote earlier in an Instagram post.
Ardern will remain in isolation until May 21. The prime minister will be carrying out a portion of her duties remotely as her deputy, Grant Robertson, is expected to hold post-cabinet news conference on Monday. The diagnosis comes as the government was due to release its annual budget and a plan to decrease its greenhouse gas emissions.