There are eight new cases of Omicron to report today. Video / NZ Herald
Auckland's community testing centres were relatively quiet today with residents holding their breath as Omicron threatens to spill across the city.
The Herald visited multiple testing centres at various points in the day, finding only a handful of people and cars queuing at sites in Auckland's central, western and easternareas.
It comes as Auckland and the rest of New Zealand saw its first day in the red traffic light setting, a decision made due to health officials' confidence the Omicron variant was circulating in the Auckland community.
That confidence was based on movements of nine Omicron cases who visited Auckland on January 15 and 16, to which a link to the border was unknown.
Some small increases in testing demand had been registered - nurse Sawson Rizkallah, site lead at the Victoria St carpark centre, said staff had tested about 70 people by about midday, which was normally the site's daily total.
Auckland vaccination programme clinical lead Dr Anthony Jordan said there had been less demand this time around, partly because not many locations of interest had been released.
He also noted many people preferred to get tested through their general practice.
Nevertheless, he implored people to get tested if they were required to do so after visiting a location of interest or were symptomatic.
"From a testing strategy point of view, that probably gives us a much more accurate picture if people follow those two principles," he said.
Auckland vaccination programme clinical lead Dr Anthony Jordan. Photo / Dean Purcell
On vaccinations, Jordan was pleased to see an uptick. More than 13,000 vaccines were administered in Auckland yesterday, more than double the 5000 usually seen on Sundays.
He also commended Kiwis' uptake of their booster dose with 57 per cent of eligible people getting boosted.
Today, it was announced the indoor Westgate vaccination centre would be replaced by a drive-through centre from tomorrow.
It will be located at the carpark on the corner of Gunton Drive and Tawhia Drive in Westgate, and will be open from 11am to 3.30pm tomorrow, and 8.30am to 3.30pm every day from Wednesday.
People queue at a pharmacy offering Covid-19 vaccinations in Balmoral. Photo / Michael Craig
With capacity to vaccinate 2500 people per day, Jordan said the shift to drive-through recognised how Aucklanders preferred to get their vaccines.
"I think the drive-through setup allows people to feel more comfortable by staying in their bubble, that's definitely some feedback we've had.
"It doesn't mean the other sites aren't better for different reasons. A lot of people, 5-to-11-year-olds, feel more comfortable going inside to a GP where they're in a room on their own in a familiar place.
"So it's really just offering a few more options in terms of giving people a different mode of getting vaccinated that they might be more comfortable with."
In addition to community sites, more than 380 Auckland GPs and pharmacies offer Covid vaccination - 300 of which were able to administer the paediatric vaccine.
