Director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield (right) welcomed by new Hawke's Bay District Health Board (HBDHB) chief executive Keriana Brooking. Photo / Warren Buckland
Director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield (right) welcomed by new Hawke's Bay District Health Board (HBDHB) chief executive Keriana Brooking. Photo / Warren Buckland
New statistics show Covid-19 testing rates in the Hawke's Bay Pasifika community are the second highest of New Zealand's 20 district health boards.
A Hawke's Bay DHB spokeswoman said the DHB's Māori and Pacific health teams had worked directly in the community, which helped keep the region's Covid testing ratesup for both Māori and Pacific populations.
Chief executive Keriana Brooking, at a DHB meeting on Wednesday, said at the time of writing, Hawke's Bay was ranked 11 out of 20 DHBs for overall tests conducted.
When this was measured on a per capita basis, the region places eighth, with a Covid testing rate of 125 per 1000 people.
For Māori, Hawke's Bay was ranked eighth out of 20 DHBs for total testing and 10th per capita, with a testing rate of 131 per 1000 people, she said.
For Pasifika community testing, Hawke's Bay was ranked ninth for overall tests but on a per capita basis is second with a testing rate of 283 per 1000 people.
"Dr Andy Phillips and I have visited our Public Health team, our two local community testing centres and our DHB laboratory services to thank them for their ongoing effort," Brooking said.
Brooking also congratulated the community and flu vaccination providers on Hawke's Bay's "great result" with Hawke's Bay placed 2 out of 20 DHBs currently for Māori population.
Seventy-five per cent of the Māori community aged 65 and over received their flu jab in Hawke's Bay this year and Māori in Hawke's Bay aged 65 and over received more flu immunisations than all other ethnicities in the region for the first time.
Previously DHB's acting executive director health improvement and equity Patrick Le Geyt said the increased uptake among Māori aged over 65 could be credited to a focus on removing barriers and access to care.
"This is a first which is worth celebrating," he said.
"It's a great achievement as we work to reduce health inequities and improve overall health and wellbeing of our Māori communities.
"Nationally, Hawke's Bay is also the second-highest region in the country for immunisations of this group."
A DHB spokeswoman said every week a Covid-response pānui was sent out to the region's Māori and Pacific communities as well.
It contained the latest information on Covid-testing, rules, flu immunisations and contact tracing.
The DHB reminded people to remain vigilant and keep in mind the following points - if sick – stay at home, call your GP or one of the testing stations and if you are offered a Covid test take it .
People could make contact tracing easier for health officials by keeping a record of where they went and when and who they met.
The DHB wanted to remind people to use the NZ Covid Tracer app or another method if they did not have a smartphone.
