Coronavirus Covid 19: Marist College Auckland father turned away twice before testing positive

An Auckland man says he was turned away from a Covid-19 test twice before he tested positive for the virus. Photo / Geoff Muliaga Brown

An Auckland father says he was twice denied a coronavirus test before he tested positive.

One week after he first felt ill, Geoff Muliaga Brown was admitted to hospital, struggling to breathe.

"A lot of the time I was bedridden and just trying to survive, really," he shared in a Facebook video.

At one point, he has to take off his mask so he can breathe easier while recording.

His daughter attends Marist College, which remains the largest cluster of Covid-19 cases in New Zealand, with 48 confirmed and probable cases.

The entire school, around 750 students and staff, are now classed as close contacts have been told to remain in strict self-isolation.

A handful of students from Lynfield College and Mt Albert Grammar are considered casual contacts after riding the school bus with Marist students while they were infectious.

Brown said he fell ill on March 20, after attending an event at the Catholic girls' school.

"When I mean sick, I mean chronically ill, bedridden. We later found out that a teacher had been infected by the virus."

Marist College's school calendar shows a fiafia night was held on Saturday March 14, and an extended whānau meeting on March 18.

The next day, the Government banned gatherings of more than 100 people or more at indoor events in an effort to halt the spread of Covid-19.

This rule did not apply to schools, universities or any other educational institutes.

Brown was denied the test for coronavirus twice over four days, because his symptoms weren't severe and he didn't meet the criteria, he said.

Continuing to deteriorate, he called Healthline again and was tested.

Later, he found it hard to breathe. He called Healthline again and asked for help.

"There was pain right through my back, my sides, severe pain. For a virus or an illness to do that... it shouldn't be this hard to get tested.

"I told them I couldn't breathe. I was literally breathing fast, short, panting."

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He was admitted to Auckland City Hospital last Friday. His first Covid-19 test came back negative, but he later tested positive for the virus.

"Every day was a cough, a headache, a migraine, a fever, shivers. But also concerns for my family, making sure they stayed away from me," he said.

He's recovering now, but he's not impressed at how difficult it was for him to get help.

Brown urged health authorities to "think about the bigger picture".

"I want to stress, put people before process.

"We're not a big country compared to the numbers around the world, but we're in a position that we can do that."

The number of Covid-19 clusters - cases linked because they have been in the same place together- has doubled since Monday.

Most of the clusters were linked to overseas travel and contact with already confirmed cases, director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said.

Six clients from dementia group Alzheimers Marlborough have tested positive, forcing staff into self-isolation.

There are now 647 confirmed and probable cases of Covid-19 nationally, with 58 new cases announced on Wednesday.

The new cases are made up of 48 new confirmed and 10 probable Covid-19 cases.

Anne Guenole died of the virus on Sunday morning. The 73-year-old was admitted to Grey Base Hospital in Greymouth on Wednesday with suspected influenza.

Her family told the Herald she rarely left her West Coast home.

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website