We seen in all seven examples formed coronavirus contaminants released from infected cells newly, using the fusion of vesicles releasing virions in to the extracellular space seeing that previously described [51]. examples had been utilized to inoculate Vero cells and, three to four days later, a cytopathic effect was observed in seven viral FANCF cultures. Viral growth kinetics was characterized using Vero and VeroE6/TMPRSS2 cells. The identity of the viruses was verified by RT-qPCR, Western blot, indirect immunofluorescence assays, and electron microscopy. Whole-genome sequences were analyzed using two different yet complementary deep sequencing platforms (MiSeq/Illumina and Ion PGM?/Ion Torrent?), classifying the viruses as SARS-CoV-2 B.55, B.31, B.1, or B.1.369 based on the Pango Lineage nomenclature. All seven SARS-CoV-2 isolates were susceptible to remdesivir (EC50 values from 0.83 to 2.42 M) and -D-N4-hydroxycytidine (molnupiravir, EC50 values from 0.96 to 1 1.15 M) but not to favipiravir ( 10 M). Interestingly, four SARS-CoV-2 isolates, transporting the D614G substitution originally associated with increased transmissibility, were more susceptible (2.4-fold) to a commercial monoclonal antibody targeting the spike glycoprotein than the wild-type viruses. Altogether, this seminal work allowed for early access to SARS-CoV-2 isolates in New Zealand, paving the way for numerous clinical and scientific research projects in the country, including the development and validation of diagnostic assays, antiviral strategies, and a national COVID-19 vaccine development program. [1]. Six other coronaviruses, two alphacoronaviruses (HCoV-229E and HcoV-NL63) and four betacoronaviruses (HcoV-OC43, HKU1, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV), are known to infect and cause disease in humans [14]. In the case of SARS-CoV-2, and much like other previously discovered novel viruses (e.g., human immunodeficiency computer virus [15], Ebola computer virus [16], and even SARS-CoV [2] and MERS-CoV [3]), having access to RIPA-56 the actual viral agent responsible for the newly explained disease was vital for the characterization of the novel computer virus, including but not limited to physical features, structure, growth kinetics, cell tropism, transmissibility, pathogenicity, and virulence [1]. Following the isolation of the original Wuhan-Hu-1 SARS-CoV-2 in China [1], research laboratories around the world raced to isolate the computer virus from local COVID-19 cases. This simultaneous andat timescoordinated effort, allowed for the dissemination of computer virus isolates to research laboratories capable of handling infectious viruses, as well as the RIPA-56 quick sharing of non-infectious material to clinical laboratories, public health companies, and pharmaceutical or biotech companies. This initial work was important to developing and validating diagnostic assays [17,18,19,20,21,22], the screening of novel or re-purposed drugs as prophylactic and/or treatment strategies [23], and the design and development of numerous COVID-19 vaccine candidates [24] in every corner of the world. The first individual infected with SARS-CoV-2 in New Zealand was diagnosed on 28 February 2020 and a month later, when there were close to 300 confirmed COVID-19 cases, the country went into full lockdown, supported by the use of face masks while maintaining interpersonal distancing [25]. This swift measure eliminated the spread of the computer virus in the community for more than a 12 months, restricting the infections to occasional COVID-19 cases in the international border RIPA-56 quarantine facilities [26]. In August 2021, the SARS-CoV-2 Delta (B.1.617.2) variant was introduced in the community and since then has been responsible for a relatively small number of daily COVID-19 cases. As of 4 January 2022, New Zealand experienced a total of 14,405 COVID-19 cases and 51 deaths (https://nzcoviddashboard.esr.cri.nz/#!/ utilized on 4 January 2022), with increasing infections associated with the highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant in the quarantine facilities. We recently described our experience implementing a molecular diagnostic test on a random-access platform (Hologic Panther Fusion? System, Marlborough, MA, USA), right RIPA-56 on time to identify the first SARS-CoV-2 infections in New Zealands South Island [22]. This work was initially hindered by the lack of access to important material (i.e., SARS-CoV-2 RNA), hard to obtain during the early days of the pandemic. Here, we describe the first isolation of SARS-CoV-2 in New Zealand, using the first set of patient-derived samples recognized in March 2020. We characterized RIPA-56 the phenotype and genotype of the first SARS-CoV-2 isolates in the country, which at the time were key in: (i) the distribution of infectious and non-infectious material to multiple clinical and research laboratories, helping validate additional diagnostic assays early in the pandemic and (ii) opening the door to numerous SARS-CoV-2-related projects in New Zealand, including antiviral strategies and the development of COVID-19 vaccine candidates. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Cells Vero cells (CCL-81? ATCC), a gift from Dr. Matloob Husain, University or college of Otago, were produced in high glucose DMEM (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA) supplemented with 5% fetal bovine serum (FBS, Cellgro Mediatech, Manassas, VA, USA), 100 models/mL of penicillin, and 100 g/mL of streptomycin (Thermo Fisher Scientific). VeroE6/TMPRSS2 [27] cells were purchased from the Japanese Collection of Research Bioresources Cell Lender (Osaka, Japan) and.