New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has called in the military to oversee the country's border controls and quarantine measures after two women from the UK were allowed to leave quarantine early without being tested, Bloomberg reported.

Both women were subsequently announced as New Zealand's two new Covid-19 cases on June 16, ending a 24-day streak of no new infections in the country.

Ardern highlighted that both women should have been subjected to two tests at the isolation facilities, Reuters further reported.

Military appointed to take charge of quarantine

Calling the incident an "unacceptable blunder" which should not have happened, Ardern added that she was now appointing the Assistant Chief of Defence, Air Commodore Digby Webb, to oversee the quarantine process, and the management of isolation facilities.

In addition, Webb will also be conducting an audit of facilities and measures to ensure all processes are followed, and to ensure if any changes need to be made to strengthen border controls.

In laying out scope of Webb's oversight, Ardern added that Webb will also be able to seek access to the military's operational expertise, its logistics, as well as personnel to assist in running the facilities.

Both women had been given special permission to see their dying parent

Ardern also stated that she would temporarily remove compassionate exemption, which was the grounds for the women's early release from quarantine, The Guardian reported.

Ardern said,"I cannot allow the gains we have all made to be squandered by processes not being upheld."

According to Reuters, the two women had arrived in New Zealand from the UK on June 7.

They then went into mandatory quarantine but were given special permission to leave the isolation facility to visit a dying parent in Wellington.

Currently undertaking contact tracing of 320 close contacts

In the meantime, New Zealand's Ministry of Health has identified 320 close contacts of the women, which are being contacted, isolated and traced.

The women themselves have since entered isolation together with a relation, as per The Guardian.

Ardern added that the two new cases did not change New Zealand's status as a Covid-19 free country however.

She said,"Our definition always assumed there would be cases at the border."

At the time of the New Zealand's declaration as a Covid-19 free country on June 8, health officials cautioned that there could be more imported cases in the future.

Top image from Jacinda Ardern Facebook