133 Molesworth Street PO Box 5013 Wellington 6140 New Zealand T+64 4 496 2000
4 September 2020
Kia ora koutou Thanks very much to you and all your staff for the continued effort in response to the reemergence of COVID-19 in the community in Auckland. The large volume of testing over recent weeks has been extraordinary and has continued to support the management and containment of the Auckland-based cluster, as well as providing assurance that there is no wider spread around the country. This note contains further guidance on testing expectations for the next 2-3 weeks across New Zealand to support the management of the current cluster. The majority of testing over the next few weeks will continue to be focused on Auckland, and both in Auckland and the rest of New Zealand the priority is testing symptomatic people. However, no one who requests a test should be turned away. Informed by modelling, we are aiming to continue with approximately 70,000 tests per week across the country, with approximately 2/3 of these to be undertaken in the Auckland region. The focus in Auckland should be on: Continued rapid case identification and contact isolation Identifying undetected community transmission, particularly to provide assurance for Pacific, MÄ ori and MELAA communities Continued source ascertainment Providing assurance on the public health measures at the border. Testing also needs to continue across the country focussed on: a.
All people with symptoms consistent with COVID-19
b.
Border workers.
It is important that DHBs continue to focus on facilitating access to COVID-19 testing for MÄ ori and Pacific people. DHBs outside of Auckland are also asked to implement specific initiatives to test asymptomatic people, with a focus on: