Hutt Valley and Capital & Coast DHBs ask people to be patient and kind – both to one another and to staff – at the region’s community testing centres (CTCs) following widespread abusive, aggressive, and violent behaviour and treatment.

“Our teams are doing the best they can to administer COVID-19 tests and distribute rapid antigen tests (RATs) but, across the board, are experiencing an unacceptable level of abusive behaviour,” said 2DHB acting COVID-19 Response general manager Junior Ulu.

“This is not only distressing for our teams and members of the public who witness this sort of behaviour, it compromises our ability to keep collection points running and to stand up additional capacity.”

Sky Stadium has today replaced the Hataitai netball courts as the main public collection point for RATs in Wellington city. This will better accommodate the massive demand that has been seen at central Wellington sites, and will reduce traffic disruption in the surrounding areas. Sky Stadium will be open seven days a week. The Taranaki St CTC is also distributing RATs.

In Porirua, the Cannons Creek CTC is closed today due to a large community funeral nearby and concerns about the ability to effectively manage queues and traffic disruption while being sensitive to mourners. The 2DHBs are working closely with Maori and Pacific providers, and PHO partners, to ensure RATs are available for people in the Porirua area who are at high risk from COVID-19. The Canons Creek site will be open as normal from 10am Saturday.

The collection site at Team Medical in Paraparaumu will also close from 2pm today (Friday 4 March) until further notice. The collection point at the Waikanae Rugby Club continues to be operational.

“People should only visit CTCs to collect tests if they have symptoms, or live with someone who has COVID-19. Our teams will prioritise distribution along these lines, and each box contains five tests that can be used by household members.

“We understand that this is a scary and stressful situation for many people, however our staff are doing the best they can and deserve respect and kindness while they do their work.”

COVID-19 information for the Greater Wellington Region – Wairarapa, Hutt Valley, and Capital & Coast DHBs – is now publicly available on the 3DHB Greater Wellington COVID-19 Hub.

Going forward, 3DHB COVID-19 data – active cases, hospital cases, and vaccinations – will be published every Monday and Thursday afternoon.

A breakdown of vaccinations by DHB will also be published on the ‘Getting Vaccinated’ page of the COVID-19 Hub.

Information about active cases and vaccinations will also be available via social media – https://www.facebook.com/protectgreaterwellington, www.facebook.com/wairarapadhb, www.facebook.com/HuttValleyDHB, www.facebook.com/RPHWellington, and www.facebook.com/CCDHB.

Please visit these sites and pages for the latest information on Monday and Thursdays.

Further information about COVID-19 across Greater Wellington – including visitor restrictions – can be found at www.ccdhb.org.nz, www.huttvalleydhb.org.nz, and www.wairarapa.dhb.org.nz.

For up to date information about testing locations, hours, and Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) visit Healthpoint.

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