Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs

endeavours to link to sources and information about testing at the air border.

employed by the DHB working on site at an affected airport.

Must not prevent their workers from being tested during their working hours, if testing is available during those workers’ hours. Self-employed/sole trader workers or contractors may need to consider their responsibilities both as an affected worker and as a PCBU/ employer.

The following section sets out responses to frequently asked questions and is intended to assist understanding and implementation of the requirements of the Required Testing Order. Please direct any further questions not covered by these FAQs to: COVID-19testing@health.govt.nz.

1. Why should border workers be tested?

• The aim of these testing measures is to increase the safety of border workers, and to strengthen barriers to prevent COVID-19 entering New Zealand across the border. Workers at borders all have an increased risk of exposure to COVID-19 through interaction with travellers and cargo arriving from overseas. Regular testing of border workers provides assurance that use of personal protective equipment (PPE), practising good hygiene and other public health protection measures are effective. • It is important to remember that the appropriate use of PPE and other public health measures remain the best ways for border workers to protect themselves from exposure to COVID-19.

2. What types of COVID-19 testing are available to border workers?

• The nasopharyngeal swab, or deep nasal swab, is the preferred option due to its effectiveness in detecting the virus. However, as border workers are undergoing testing regularly, they may ask for the new ‘alternative swab option’, the oropharyngeal and bilateral anterior nasal swab (ONS). This involves a less invasive swab of one nostril and a throat swab. • Saliva testing is not currently available for air border workers, but may become an option in future. o Saliva testing has a lower sensitivity than nasopharyngeal swabbing. At this stage, it is a potential additional screening tool for New Zealand’s highest risk border workers, and it could complement use of the nasopharyngeal method for those being tested regularly.

o Nasopharyngeal swabs remain the ‘gold standard’ test and preferred means of testing for COVID-19 because of their sensitivity.

o The Required Testing Order allows for saliva testing to be an authorised method for the purposes of the order in future, if this is later considered to be an appropriately sensitive test. o However, no saliva tests are approved by the Director General of Health for the purposes of testing under the Order at this time. o Workers are encouraged to participate in voluntary saliva testing where this is made available, but saliva tests will not qualify as a test for the purposes of meeting obligations under the Required Testing Order at this stage.

3. Most border workers are being vaccinated as a priority group. Will they still need to be tested once they are vaccinated?

• Yes, at this stage border workers will still need to be tested once they are vaccinated. The vaccines will protect individuals from the effects of the virus, however, it is too early for researchers to determine whether a vaccinated person could still transmit the virus to someone else. Until the evidence is clearer, and until we have more individuals in the community vaccinated, the mandatory testing of our border and managed isolation and quarantine workforce needs to continue. • It is also an important reminder that the vaccines are not a substitute for workers staying at home if unwell, as well as using good hygiene practices such as washing hands, coughing and sneezing into the elbow, and wearing PPE while working.

4. Where should workers be tested?

• Either at testing sites available at the place of work (i.e. on-site testing facilities at airports, ports, MIQ facilities), a community testing centre, or another healthcare facility, such as a GP. • Workers must provide their employer with information about their test to allow the employer to keep the records required by the Order. To ensure a record is kept, if a worker goes to a community testing centre, or another healthcare facility to get tested, they should ensure their test is recorded using the appropriate identifier (SURV code) unique to their place of work. Some employers use a voucher system for referring workers to a GP or a community testing centre, which includes the appropriate SURV code. Workers should contact their employer for information.

5. How does a worker get their test results?

• If a worker returns a negative test, they will be advised of their test results by their testing service provider. This is likely to be by text message. • If a worker returns a positive test result, they will receive a call from the local Medical Officer of Health and will need to follow the instructions given.

6. Is there any requirement for an employer to pay workers to be tested when testing must be done in their own time?

• Payment of workers who are tested in their own time is a matter for individual employers, taking into account their general employment, workplace health and safety obligations and contractual requirements. Employers are encouraged to support staff to be tested.

7. Do workers need to be off work until they get their test results?

• If you are a border worker or other worker being tested under a mandatory testing requirement such as the Required Testing Order, and you are NOT sick or symptomatic, you can continue working while you wait for the test results. • Workers should stay home if they are sick and contact Healthline or their medical professional to arrange a test if they are displaying flu-like symptoms. In this situation, they should self-isolate until they get their test results. • Notwithstanding this advice, if you are a border worker who becomes a close contact of community case, and are tested on that basis, you are required to follow public health advice, including self-isolating at home until you receive a negative test result.

8. What assistance is available to a worker who cannot work due to COVID-19?

• Work and Income administers a leave subsidy scheme to help employers pay their employees who need to self-isolate due to COVID-19 and can’t work from home, in certain situations. Details are available at: https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/covid-19/leavesupport-scheme/

9. Can a worker be exempted from the requirement to be tested?

• A person can be exempted from the mandatory testing requirements by a suitably qualified health practitioner at the testing site based on medical grounds. A GP or qualified health professional at the testing site, if available, are examples of people who could provide an exemption.

10. How should the mandatory 7-day or 14-day testing cycle be implemented?

• Worker testing must be done at least once within 7 days or 14 days of the work occurring, depending on the applicable testing cycle. • In order to increase the likelihood of detection of the virus, timing of the tests, and the interval between them, is important. Therefore, worker testing: o should be done on each 7th or 14th day as applicable, rather than earlier in the cycle o must not be done later than the 7th or 14th day, on which it is normally due. A worker can be tested slightly earlier than the 7th or 14th day of their usual testing cycle if necessary, but not on or after the 8th or 15th day o should occur at evenly spaced 7 or 14-day intervals, and the interval between tests must not be more than 7 or 14 days, depending on the applicable testing cycle. • Notwithstanding this advice, if a worker develops symptoms at any time since their last test, they should get tested urgently regardless of when their last test was, or the next one is due.

11. What happens if a worker is absent from their workplace at the required testing time?

• If workers are absent from their workplace at the required testing time (for example, they are on holiday or not rostered to work during the required testing period), they are still required to comply with their testing requirements under the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Required Testing) Order 2020. • If the worker is absent from their workplace on their usual required testing day, but is able to be tested at a location other than their usual workplace testing site (e.g. a community

testing centre or at a medical practice), they must advise their employer of the date and location of their test. o However, there may be situations where a worker is away from the workplace and is unable to access testing at an alternative location at the required time. In such cases: ➢ a test a little earlier in the cycle is acceptable but this must be as close to the end of the 7 or 14-day cycle as possible ➢ the test must not be done later than the 7th or 14th day on which it is normally due. To specify, a worker can be tested slightly earlier than the 7th or 14th day of their usual testing cycle, but not on or after the 8th or 15th day. The Order has now been

amended to clarify that a period longer than 7 or 14 days between consecutive tests is prohibited.

➢ the testing clock would re-set, and the next test would be due on each 7th or 14th day after the latest test (as now clarified in the Required Testing Order).

12. How do the requirements apply to one-off or intermittent work in affected roles?

• Where someone works in an affected role on a one-off basis, the requirement to be tested is also a one-off. The worker must get tested within the required testing period – i.e. within 7 or 14 days, depending on the applicable testing cycle. • A further testing round is not triggered unless and until the worker next performs work in a role that brings them in scope of the Required Testing Order. • Workers who only infrequently or intermittently work in affected roles are required to be tested within 7 days or 14 days, depending on the applicable testing cycle, each time they undertake the work. o Unlike the situation in question 10 where workers are required to be tested on a regular and ongoing cycle, the optimal time for testing when someone works in an affected role on a one-off or intermittent basis is between day 5 or 7 of that exposure, regardless of the applicable testing cycle. Most people who have been infected would test positive by day 7, whether they are due to be tested on day 7 or day 14 after performing one-off or intermittent work in an affected role. o Therefore, it is recommended that in the case of work in an affected role requiring a one-off or intermittent test within 7 or 14 days, it is recommended that the test be done between days 5 and 7. o As an additional precaution, it is recommended that a worker subject to a one-off or intermittent test within 7 days of performing work in an affected role, be tested again within 7 days of that test. This is advised as a prudent approach to ensure that the worker has not been incubating the virus despite returning a negative test between day 5 and 7 – however, this additional test is not a legal requirement. o An additional test is not considered useful in the case of a worker subject to a 14day testing cycle, undertaking one-off or intermittent work in an affected role. • Once the worker has been tested for work performed in an affected role on a one-off or intermittent basis, when they take a break from performing that work, their requirement to be tested pauses and is not triggered until they next perform work in an affected role.

• As for question 10, notwithstanding this advice, if a worker develops symptoms at any time, they should get tested urgently regardless of when their one-off, or intermittent test is due.

13. What happens if a worker does not get a test at the required intervals?

• It is the responsibility of an affected worker to present themselves for regular testing at the required intervals. • If a worker does not comply with the mandatory testing requirements, and if the worker is not exempted by a suitably qualified health practitioner based on medical grounds, the worker would be in breach of clause 7 of the Required Testing Order. The individual might receive an infringement notice of $300 for not complying with the Order. Alternatively, a Court could impose a fine of up to $1000. • If a worker does not comply with their mandatory testing requirements or the requirement to provide information, we expect their employer would follow up with them in the first instance. • If the worker still fails to comply with the Order, the case can be referred to the Ministry of Health or WorkSafe. These agencies can undertake an enforcement role to ensure PCBUs and individuals meet their obligations under the Order. • A complaint about non-compliance can be made as set out below, and an investigation would then be commenced: o via email to: H&SConcerns@worksafe.govt.nz o via the 105 police non-emergency reporting line, or

o (anonymously) via the Ministry of Health’s Integrity Line (0800 424 888).

14. How will the new requirements be enforced?

• Enforcement officers are appointed to enforce compliance under the Required Testing Order. This includes Medical Officers of Health for individual enforcement, or WorkSafe inspectors, who are authorised to carry out the functions and powers of an enforcement officer in workplaces which are regulated by WorkSafe. • Authorities are taking a graduated approach to enforcement of the Required Testing Order. In the case of non-compliance by a PCBU or a worker, the focus is on encouraging compliance through education.

15. Do workers need to pay for their COVID-19 test?

• There is no charge for the test for border workers required to be tested under the Required Testing Order, or for their employers. This includes tests accessed through a community testing centre or GP. • Voluntary testing is also available to border workers who are not covered by the mandatory requirements, and this is available free of charge to the worker or employer.

16. What is a PCBU?

• A PCBU means a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (source: WorkSafe). It is a broader term than ‘employer,’ recognising the variety of employment situations and workplace arrangements. Most New Zealand businesses, whether large corporates, sole traders, or self-employed, are classed as PCBUs. In comparison, an ‘Undertaking’ refers to

activities and services such as Government agencies, local councils, school or early childhood education service or charities. • In the context of this guidance a PCBU is essentially the employer of workers at a port, airport, air border facility, managed isolation facility or quarantine facility, including third party employers of contractors, self-employed contractors or sole traders.

17. Do PCBUs/employers have obligations under the Required Testing Order?

• Yes. The Required Testing Order imposes obligations on PCBUs/employers to: o Notify each affected worker employed or engaged by the PCBU/employer of the requirement to undergo testing and the testing period that applies to the affected person, o Not prevent any affected worker from being tested during their working hours if testing is available during those hours, o Keep certain written records. • The records that are required to be kept by PCBUs/employers are:

o The worker’s full legal name o The worker’s date of birth o The testing period that applies to the worker o The worker’s contact phone number and email address (so they can receive test reminders) o The dates on which the worker has undergone testing and medical examination o If the worker has been given a medical exemption, the testing period to which the exemption relates (this does not require the collection of health information about the reason for the exemption). o From 27 April 2021, records are required to be entered by PCBUs/employers on a Register which is kept, maintained and monitored by or on behalf of the Ministry of Health. Records must be made available to an enforcement officer as soon as practicable if requested. (See information on the Border Workforce Testing Register below.) • The Ministry OF Health will monitor the Register and review reporting recorded by PCBUs on the Register. It will be able to use Register reporting features to identify if a PCBU appears to have failed to keep records, or ensure that workers are being tested within the timeframes identified in the Register. o The Ministry will review reporting recorded by PCBUs on the Register, and will be able to use Register reporting features to identify if a PCBU appears to have failed to keep records, or ensure that workers are being tested within the timeframes identified in the Register.

18. What systems are in place to support implementation of these record keeping and information sharing requirements?

• The Ministry of Health has developed the Border Workforce Testing Register which is a secure database that records and tracks workers’ testing dates.

• From 27 April 2021 it is mandatory for PCBUs/employers to be enrolled on the Register,

and to use it to meet these record-keeping and testing tracking obligations.

• The Register keeps PCBUs/employers and workers informed about: o when workers need to be tested, and o whether they have completed a test. • The Register does not record the results of any worker’s test. It only records the date that the swab was taken, and the date that the result was returned. Protecting the privacy of workers’ health information is important so any positive test results will be managed separately by the contact tracing team. • The Register is easy to use and has been designed for all PCBUs/employers to operate quickly, while providing uniform information back to the Ministry of Health. • The Ministry of Health staff are available to provide ongoing technical support to PCBUs on use of the Register. Demonstrations on how the Register works can be arranged through: bwtrsupport@health.govt.nz.

19. How does the Order affect self-employed people who are affected workers?

• Someone who is self-employed is likely to be a PCBU in their own right. This means they will need to consider how they comply with the requirements of the Order both as an employer and an affected worker.

Questions specific to air border workers 20. Which air border workers must be tested, and how often must they be tested?

• Air border workers are required to be tested every 7 days if they: o Spend more than 15 minutes in an enclosed space on board an affected aircraft. ➢ An “affected aircraft” is an aircraft (other than an aircraft undertaking a QFT flight) which arrives from a location outside New Zealand. ➢ In the context of the Required Testing Order, an “enclosed space” on an affected aircraft is a space on board the aircraft where physical distancing from the aircraft’s crew is not practicable. • Air border workers at affected airports are required to be tested every 14 days if they: o Are an air border worker: ➢ Who handles affected items that have been removed from an affected aircraft within 24 hours of the item being removed from the affected aircraft, and ➢ who has contact with a member of a group of air border workers or officials who is required to be tested under the Required Testing Order, while both are working. ❖ “has contact with”, in relation to members of a group of air border workers or border officials already required to be tested under the Required Testing Order, means: ▪ having face-to-face contact within 2 metres of each other for 15 minutes or more; or

▪ being in a confined space within 2 metres of each other for 15 minutes or more. ➢ For the purposes of determining if a worker in the air border context comes under this category, “affected items” are items that: ❖ are not cargo or freight ❖ have been removed from the affected aircraft for cleaning, disposal and/or reuse. ▪ in the aviation context, “freight” refers to goods which are not passengers’ baggage and are transported in an aircraft’s cargo compartment and not in the cabin. ▪ “re-use” refers to items that are to be reused on an aircraft. The re-use doesn’t have to be on the same aircraft.

❖ To provide some examples, “affected items” might include items such as: machinery or equipment, or parts, removed for repair or service, firefighting and lifesaving equipment removed for repair or service, laundry; garbage or garbage containers, including expired medical stores for disposal. ❖ It is noted that in some cases repairs, servicing or cleaning of machinery or equipment would be carried out on board the aircraft. o A table of workers and border officials who are required to be tested in the air border context is provided under item 4 in the table in Appendix III. o If you are a third-party contractor servicing aircrafts who meets the conditions described above, you will be included in this category.

21. Which air border workers are not required to be tested under the Order?

• Air border workers in the following situations are not required to have a test:

o Any air border worker who is not listed under “who must be tested” above. (However, testing is available to these “lower-risk” border workers not covered by the mandatory testing requirements on a voluntary basis should they wish to access it at no charge to the worker). o When an aircraft has not arrived at the airport from a location outside New Zealand for a period of at least 14 consecutive days. This pauses the obligation of air border workers at the airport to be tested until the airport receives another aircraft from outside New Zealand. This reflects the fact that some airports which are designated international airports do not regularly receive aircrafts from locations outside New Zealand.

22. When do air border workers have an exemption from being tested under the Required Testing

Order?

• When a health practitioner at the place of testing decides that it would be inappropriate for the person to undergo that testing and medical examination.

23. Why are some air border workers who interact with green flights exempt from mandatory testing requirements?

• Air border workers are exempt from testing requirements if they interact with green (QFT) flights at an international airport which is not an affected airport because it

receives only green flights. QFT flights are allowed only between New Zealand and countries where there is a low risk of transmission of COVID-19 between those countries and New Zealand, currently: Australia, the Cook Islands and Niue. This means that the risk profile of QFT flights is closer to that of domestic flights than higher-risk red (nonQFT) international flights. Accordingly, because there is not a demonstrable risk for workers who i) work at airports which are not affected airports, and ii) only interact with QFT flights, they are not required to be tested.