Test proof system working in Dunedin
IT was highly unpleasant — that’s an understatement. But Civis was impressed by the whole process. A brief fever and snuffly nose, followed by marked fatigue and a mild cough, triggered a phone call to Healthline on a Friday afternoon.
The call was answered immediately, and after describing the symptoms Civis was given another phone number to arrange for testing for Covid19. Again an immediate answer, another brief interrogation, and an appointment was made to attend the CommunityBased Assessment Centre off Cumberland St (in what had once, going by the signage, been a gym) on Saturday morning.
On arrival there was plenty of parking available, clear instructions and hand sanitiser at the entrance, a clearly marked spot to stand while identifying oneself, from a safe distance, to a staff member, and Civis was then directed to one of an array of nine or 10 seats, well spaced, more than 2m apart.
Another staff member, wearing protective head covering, mask, gown and gloves, then led the way round behind a wide, high screen, where a line of cubicles awaited customers.
A face mask was supplied, vital signs were checked, then, following reidentification, the process of taking a swab from throat and nose was explained.
Swabbing the throat wasn’t bad, but the nose swabbing was beyond description (not painful though — for pain, try a kidney stone blocking a uretur), and gave the impression that the swab might pop out the back of the head.
After the resulting convulsive bout of sneezing and pouring nose had settled (thank goodness it wasn’t a drivethrough testing station), it was explained that the result would be available within 72 hours, communicated personally by telephone and to one’s doctor, and Civis was able to leave.
Less than 24 hours later the phone rang, and a clear result announced.
It was reassuring to see how well organised the testing process is, at least in Dunedin, and to have the test result within 24 hours, which the Health Ministry says is now the average result time.
That’s important, as it enables rapid contact tracing to limit virus spread. Let’s hope that the ministry has also ramped up its rapid contact tracing ability (poorly resourced initially) so that all contacts of each case are checked within two to three days.
As Prof Sir David Skegg has pointed out to the epidemic response parliamentary select committee, high test rates and adequate rapid contact tracing are essential before the lockdown can be relaxed.
The audit of the contact tracing process, by Dr Ayesha Verrall, of Capital Coast Health and Otago University Medical School, Wellington (she, like Prof Skegg, is an alumnus of the Otago University Medical School), showed it was inadequate and needed to be expanded.
Cabinet must not relax the lockdown until that increased capacity is in place, however much pressure is exerted on the Government by business interests to do so.
But consideration could be given to allowing some industries, where safety procedures can be carefully and verifiably arranged to prevent spread of the virus between workers, and between workers and the public, to resume work.
The picture of Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters fishing from his lawn, while a horse ‘‘mow[s]’’ it, has angered some, who have claimed that fishing is forbidden during Alert Level 4.
Is it? The health notice issued by the directorgeneral of health, under Section 70 of the Health Act, restricts everyone to their ‘‘current place of residence’’, except as permitted for ‘‘essential personal movement’’, including ‘‘essential business’’, and ‘‘limited recreation’’.
It forbids ‘‘leaving their residence’’ for ‘‘swimming, waterbased activities (for example, surfing or boating)’’ and ‘‘activities of a kind that expose participants to danger or may require search and rescue services’’.
Mr Peters didn’t leave his residence, or go swimming. His fishing was landbased, and didn’t expose him to danger. What’s the problem?
A much better response was the cheerful ‘‘Good to see you’re 2m apart.’’