Public health nurse Alicia Lynch ready to give Emma Thomas of Whangārei a swab test at the Winger Cres testing centre in Kamo. Photo / Imran Ali
Public health nurse Alicia Lynch ready to give Emma Thomas of Whangārei a swab test at the Winger Cres testing centre in Kamo. Photo / Imran Ali
Covid testing and vaccination numbers jumped sharply during the weekend following revelations a Covid-positive woman travelled around Whangārei and the Bay of Islands for several days.
Just under 3100 vaccines were administered in Northland on Saturday, of which 1101 were first doses and 1990 second doses.
Friday's tally was 2363.
The number of Covid tests carried out also rose sharply from an already-high 672 on Friday to 821 on Saturday.
As of edition time on Sunday there were still no positive cases in Northland and no trace of the virus in the region's wastewater, despite 60 new community cases elsewhere in the country, mostly in Auckland.
A long queue formed at the Winger Cres testing centre in Kamo on Saturday with motorists waiting for more than an hour for their turn.
They included Emma Thomas, of Whangārei, who said the 90-minute wait was worth it. It was her third swab test so far and she urged all Northlanders to get tested and stay safe.
The Covid-positive woman who had crossed the border had put the lives of everyone at risk, she said.
Whangārei's drive-through vaccination centre outside the Northland Events Centre in Okara also had a busy day.
Site co-ordinator Anna Rooney said Saturday's crowd was different to previous vaccination clinics.
"Teens, young adults, Māori, Pasifika people, tradie-types with high vis and gumboots on. I think people are realising with Delta, they can't sit on the fence. So it's a lot more people than we were doing previously.''
The influx of people started almost as soon as the weak positive case was reported.
''Suddenly we started to see people from 2.45pm that day. It felt like someone had turned the tap on.''
The only testing station open in the Mid North on Sunday, at Kerikeri's Sammaree Place, was swamped with people keen to check their Covid status. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Sunday's test figures were not available at edition time but the only testing station open in the Mid North on Sunday, at Kerikeri's Sammaree Place, was swamped soon after its 10am opening with people wanting to check their Covid status.
The normal Sunday closing time of 2pm was extended to 4pm — as it was at the district health board's other testing stations in Kamo, Dargaville and Kaitaia — but by mid-afternoon the number of people coming in to get tested had slowed to a steady trickle.
The last major surge in demand for vaccinations came in August when the Delta variant was detected in Warkworth and 3001 doses were delivered in a single day at a drive-through clinic in Whangārei.
Nationwide more than 81,000 jabs were given on Saturday with more than 65,000 of those second doses.
The Covid-positive woman, who is reportedly not co-operating with health authorities, visited Onerahi, Kensington, Paihia, Kawakawa and Waipū between October 2 and 5.
At a glance Vaccination Clinics No booking required Whangārei Northland Events Centre Drive-through 51 Okara Drive, Whangārei Monday 10am-5pm Tuesday 8am-7.30pm Wednesday 10am-5pm Thursday 8am-7.30pm Friday 9am-3pm Saturday 9am-4pm Sunday 17 10am-2pm Ngāti Hine Health Trust 5 Walton St, Whāngarei Saturday 9am-1pm
Kamo Ki A Ora Ngātiwai Call 09 435-4586 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday - 10am-3pm
Dargaville Northland District Health Board
22a Normanby St (next to the Dargaville Yugoslav Hall, opposite Caltex and the Farm Machinery Centre) Monday 11am-6pm Tuesday 10am-2pm Wednesday 10am-3pm Sunday 10am-2pm
