Nearly 2,500 people tested in a week

18 Aug 2020, 14:58

In the past week 2,212 people have been swabbed, along with 258 Port of Napier workers surveillance tested, taking the total to 2,470 people swabbed in Hawke’s Bay. No-one has yet returned a positive result. 

There are only a few  port workers remaining to be tested. These workers will all have testing completed before the end of the week. 

Testing stations in Hawke’s Bay are reporting that they have caught up with the backlog of people waiting to be tested. Most people should now be able to receive a test on the same day or the following day. Test results on average are now being returned within 48 hours. 

Medical Officer of Health Nick Jones said he continued to strongly encourage anyone who was sick with cold or flu like illnesses to call one of the testing stations or their GP for a test. 

“We can only be sure there is no community transmission with high levels of testing continuing in the community.” 

Dr Jones said he wanted to thank the Hawke’s Bay community with their on-going vigilance to the virus.“COVID-19 is a tricky virus and we want to continue to be able to give the community confidence that there are no signs of any community transmission – we can only do that with the community supporting us and getting tested when they are sick.” 

The advice remains: 

• If you have symptoms of cold and flu call one of the testing stations or your GP (numbers below) 
• If you are offered a test, take it 
• The assessment and test for COVID-19 is free and should be easy to access for everyone 
• If you do not have symptoms you do not need to be tested , unless directed by a health official. 

It’s also important to remember the basic health measures, which keep communities protected: staying home if you’re sick, frequent hand washing, and good sneeze and cough etiquette. 

At Alert Level 2 you should wear face coverings, masks, in situations where physical distancing is not possible, like on public transport or in shops. 

People can ring one of the numbers below to book a test, or ring their doctor.

• Napier: 06 650 4000 open 9am-5pm Mon-Sun.
• Hastings: 06 281 2644 open 8am-8pm Mon-Sun.
• Wairoa: 06 838 8333 open 8.30am-5pm Mon-Fri.
• Central Hawke’s Bay residents need to be referred from their doctor or Healthline: 0800 358 5453.

If you haven’t already please download the contact tracer app, which allows you to receive a contact alert if you’ve checked into a location at around the same time as someone with COVID-19, so you can take immediate steps to protect yourself and whānau. 

For more information please go to https://covid19.govt.nz/