Queenstown popup testing achieves more than double its daily target
‘‘ABSOLUTELY amazed.’’
So impressed was Well South chief executive Andrew SwansonDobbs after a Queenstown popup Covid19 testing centre completed more than double its planned daily tests — a total of 1050 swabs.
The Pak’nSave car park centre opened ahead of schedule yesterday as the Queenstown public lined up.
‘‘Making the first 100 by 9 o’clock was a bit scary, but to finish the day with 1050 tests being completed is just impressive.
‘‘I just want to thank the people of Queenstown and the health professionals of the region who have turned up today to make this happen.’’
Initially, the popup had planned for just 350 swabs. However, more were retrieved at lunchtime from local health clinics.
Results from the tests would be known in 48 hours and participants would be called.
Mr SwansonDobbs said the popup followed a weekend conversation with the Ministry of
Health about increasing the number of swabs done in the region.
‘‘And the answer was can you please do another popup in Queenstown.’’
At the start of July, a man visited Queenstown who had since tested positive for Covid19 in South Korea.
Peter Greer, a skipper on TSS Earnslaw, stopped by for a swab. His job meant constantly mixing with people from out of town.
‘‘I’m always having people coming up to the bridge and saying hi . . . so I mix with a lot of tourists, people going all over the place. So I thought it was probably best to have a go.’’
‘‘In fact I was surprised when the first lot of tests went through that I hadn’t picked up something. Lucky, I suppose.’’
Local woman Elizabeth Smith felt people needed to be more wary of the ongoing global situation.
‘‘I think if we can give more data and help them to understand if there’s any community tracing, fine, let’s do a few random checks like this.’’
Queenstown Lakes Mayor Jim Boult got a test from his vehicle.
‘‘I think it’s a responsible thing to do, I think it’s a great insurance policy,’’ Mr Boult said.
Manager of Southern Community Laboratories Queenstown Lisa Cassels said the popup aimed to give local people the ‘‘reassurance’’ about whether there was Covid19 in the community.
‘‘Noone’s expecting any positive results. But it’s really important that numbers for testing are kept up consistently.’’
An antibodies blood test was also being offered for people after receiving a swab.
This was about proving if people had been ‘‘exposed’’ to Covid, Ms Cassels said.
‘‘It will be interesting what people have them, whether they were people that were out and about that were essential workers.’’
‘‘We don’t really know but there’s a lot of valuable data that can be gained from this.’’
WELLINGTON: New Zealanders are being urged to ‘‘be ready’’, as the country remains under the ‘‘very real’’ threat of Covid19.
With as many as 70% of New Zealanders saying life feels exactly the same or only slightly different than before the virus hit in March, the All of Government Response is undertaking a new publicity drive to raise awareness.
A spokesman said yesterday the latest version of Unite Against Covid19 campaign had been relaunched at the weekend, chiefly to remind people the very real threat the virus still posed to New Zealand and counter increasing levels of complacency in the community, especially regarding testing.
‘‘In reality, Covid19 is uncontained outside our borders, and under Level 1, every New Zealander has a part to play to keep the virus at bay.
‘‘So now we’re calling on New Zealanders to ‘be ready’.’’
He said this meant keeping track of movements, practising good personal hygiene, staying at home if sick and seeking medical advice.
Last month, research by the Covid19 Response Group showed that about 70% of people thought life felt exactly the same or only slightly different compared with preCovid19 times.
Less than half would now comply with official requests, down from 90% in March.
However, this was not a time to relax but rather the time to remain vigilant and comply with requests, especially when it came to testing, the spokesman warned.
‘‘Testing remains a crucial part of our overall response to Covid19 and we all have a part to play.
‘‘Our message to New Zealanders is if you are offered a swab, please take up that offer.’’
It was also important to keep track of movements in case there was a second wave.
‘‘As we can see in other parts of the world, Covid19 spreads rapidly.
‘‘If a case reappears in the community, we will need to act swiftly, and the better records that we keep of our movements, the faster we can respond,’’ the spokesman said.
Health Minister Chris Hipkins said yesterday New Zealand ‘‘cannot afford for Covid19 fatigue to set in’’.
Even the smallest sacrifices, including signing in with the Covid Tracer app, would help.
‘‘There have been 627,000 downloads of the app so far and 82,000 posters displayed by businesses and organisations,’’ he said.
Mr Hipkins would be writing to every mayor in the country, asking them to ensure their local businesses and public facilities were displaying the QR codes.
There were no new cases of Covid19 in New Zealand yesterday.
Directorgeneral of health Ashley Bloomfield said five previously reported cases were now recovered, meaning there were 22 active cases in managed isolation in the country. — The New Zealand Herald