Covid 19 coronavirus: Long queues at Auckland testing stations after further two cases confirmed

There are long queues at Covid testing sites around Auckland - especially on the North Shore, where two further cases of the virus were confirmed overnight.

Lines of vehicles could be seen at the North Harbour Stadium testing station, in Albany, before it even opened at 8am.

Just before 10.30am, there were three rows of up to 13 vehicles snaking around the car park.

A witness at the scene said: "The line goes around and up towards the highway. It's just huge.

"People have turned their engines off and are just waiting."

He said nurses were coming around to speak to people and a security guard was approaching vehicles to let them know they were in for a long wait.

"He said we can expect a three-and-a-half to four-hour wait. As he's saying that, the line is growing about five to 10 cars a minute."

There is also a long wait already at the Victor Eaves Park site, in Orewa.

By 11.30am, the line of vehicles had almost done a loop around the entire park - down Florence Ave and West Hoe Rd.

Red Beach resident Mario Astuello, 40, had been waiting for almost three hours to get to the front, but insisted: "It has to be done."

A photographer at the scene said despite the long line, staff were working to get as many vehicles through as fast as possible.

"They're doing a few at once - six to eight cars at a time."

In comparison, the testing site at Te Whānau o Waipareira Trust in Henderson, West Auckland, is not as busy this morning.

A spokesman told the Herald: "It's very quiet actually, which is a little weird."

It seemed the rush to get tested had eased back dramatically after Monday, when they tested about 600 people at the Henderson site.

A pop-up clinic the trust set up in Parakai on Monday reeled in about 400 people and saw a long line of vehicles snaking down the main road.

#CovidTesting 🦠Mōrena. Whānau Waipareira Testing Center continues to remain open 7 days a week. Corner Catherine & Edsel Streets, Henderson. For whānau in Albany/Sulverdale/Orewa please see the below link for further details on self isolation & testing. https://t.co/4gRM6H8cMM pic.twitter.com/YB0XPD679y

— Te Whānau O Waipareira Trust (@WaipareiraTrust) January 27, 2021

Despite the quiet turnout early today, the spokesman said they would remain open seven days a week to provide that ongoing service to the local community.

There has been a surge in testing this week after the Ministry of Health confirmed a 56-year-old woman who had completed her managed isolation period at the Pullman Auckland hotel had since tested positive for Covid-19 while out in the community.

Officials say she has since recovered.

However, authorities announced late last night that two other people - now known to be an adult and a child - were officially being treated as confirmed Covid cases.

The pair are understood to be from the Orewa area and are now being moved to the quarantine facility in South Auckland.

A total of 12 locations of interest are connected to the pair so far and have been released by the Ministry of Health.

Anyone who visited those places is being urged to get a Covid test as soon as possible.