Covid 19 coronavirus: Hawke's Bay ramps up testing

Hawke's Bay will undergo increased Covid-19 testing, despite no new cases since April 27. Photo / File

Testing for Covid-19 is set to ramp in Hawke's Bay in the coming weeks.

While the region has not reported any new cases of Covid-19 since April 27, the Hawke's Bay District Health Board is due to start intensive testing over the next two weeks.

A total of 6678 people so far have been swabbed across Hawke's Bay.

Medical Officer of Health Rachel Eyre said 263 frontline healthcare workers had been voluntarily tested by an occupational health team as part of a nationwide screening programme for asymptomatic healthcare workers over the past week.

"These staff work in areas that managed Covid-19 positive patients or were exposed to large numbers of possible Covid-19 patients," she said.

All results returned negative.

"This is very reassuring and shows our processes and systems, especially around personal protective equipment (PPE), are working," she said.

The frontline healthcare workers tested included St John's ambulance officers, cleaners and orderlies, as well as the clinical frontline teams in Hawke's Bay Hospital's Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit and the respiratory ward.

Eyre said a total of 129 Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) workers had also been tested over the weekend.

Of the 74 results to have been returned so far, all were negative.

Health Hawke's Bay (PHO) was working to get more people in outlying areas, such as Porangahau, Waipawa, Otane and rural areas around Wairoa, tested and was co-ordinating an increased testing plan to enable this.

"When we move to alert level 2, we want to be confident that there is little likelihood of the virus anywhere in Hawke's Bay and, to help us be confident about that, we will continue our increased testing for at least the next two weeks," Eyre said.

Symptoms of Covid-19 include cold- or flu-like illness, including a fever, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, a runny nose, or loss of smell.

Anybody feeling unwell is urged to call their GP or Healthline on 0800 358 5453 to be assessed for referral to a Community-Based Assessment Centre for testing.