No New Cases Of COVID-19

There are no new cases of COVID-19 to report in New Zealand today.

It has been 99 days since the last case of COVID-19 was acquired locally from an unknown source.

There are no new recovered cases to report, so there continue to be 23 active cases, all in managed isolation facilities. None of those people are receiving hospital-level care.

Our number of confirmed cases remains at 1,219.

Yesterday our laboratories processed 3,289 tests, bringing the total number of tests completed to date to 490,232. There were 720 swabs taken in managed isolation and quarantine facilities yesterday.

Again, a big thanks to everyone who has come forward to be tested. Please continue to seek advice on getting a test if you have cold or flu-like symptoms.

Pop-up centres
Pop-up testing centres continue to play an important part in helping rule out the potential for COVID-19 in our communities.

In South Auckland today, residents are again being encouraged to get out and get tested.
 

The metro Auckland district health boards are providing free COVID-19 swabbing at a pop-up surveillance testing site in Manurewa. There have been good numbers through already despite some challenging weather, with approximately 10 cars waiting for the 9am opening and more than 75 people tested so far.

This drive-thru/walk-thru testing centre is set up at the Southmall car park, entrance via Weymouth Road, Manurewa, and will be open today until 4pm. The pop-up is not open on Sunday, but Aucklanders can be tested for free after hours at any of the city’s 19 Urgent Care Clinics.

In Christchurch, there were also queues ahead of start time for Canterbury people without symptoms wanting to be tested. By midday, an estimated 75 people had gone through the process, with very cold conditions failing to deter hardy Cantabrians from their support for the team of five million.

This clinic is open until 4pm at 170 Orchard Road near Christchurch Airport at a venue kindly provided by Christchurch International Airport. There's drive-through and walk-up capacity and for people without their own transport, the nearest bus-stop is on Harewood Road, route 125.

Yesterday, Taranaki and Mid Central DHBs also held well-supported pop-ups.

Mid Central hosted two sites, with a great turnout despite some wet weather. There were 576 tests across the two pop-ups, with more than 700 tests district-wide.

There has also been good news from the Southern round of testing, with all 35 tests taken at Milford returning negative results.

"Testing is an essential part of our overall elimination strategy and again, many thanks to everyone around the country who has participated by coming along for a test," says Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield. "We also want to those who’ve organised the pop-ups, along with the businesses and organisations who’ve made the venues available."

Details of additional pop-up clinics will be available early next week.

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