The Covid 19 testing station at Kahukura Rugby Club this morning.
Rotorua and Taupō residents rushed to local Covid-19 testing stations on Monday.
Lakes District Health Board confirmed a total of 194 tests were undertaken, 126 in Rotorua and 68 in Taupō, after three community cases were discovered in Auckland.
Across three days at both centres last week there were only61 total tests - making Monday's total an increase of more than 200 per cent.
On Sunday evening, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced New Zealand would hastily move to alert level 2, except Auckland which moved to level 3, at 11.59pm.
As soon as the staff member found out about the connection, they contacted their employer and went home to isolate while waiting for their test results.
There had been no tauira (students) on campus during the period the staff member was on campus, the wānanga's Facebook page says.
Internal investigations show the staff member had spent time in one area of the Whakatāne campus which has been sectioned off and will undergo a deep clean.
Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick says there is always unease in the community when the alert levels increase but there was no need for panic.
"We now live with the knowledge that there could be an escalation of alert levels at any time so should be ready at all times for that to happen," she said.
"I would encourage people to connect with their whānau, neighbourhood and other support networks, activate those if required, and to check on and look out for our most vulnerable."
Chadwick was confident everyone would play their part to minimise the impact of the increased alert level.
She said it was important people use the tracer app, practice good hygiene, social distance from one another, and stay home if unwell and call Healthline for advice.
Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick. Photo / Andrew Warner
A spokesperson for Lakes DHB said testing stations saw a spike any time there were community cases, however, they were processing more tests now compared to when there were community cases in Northland last month.
Both the Rotorua and Taupō testing stations would be open daily from 9am to 3pm this week, with no appointment.
Tests for the virus were free except if you required one to travel. The Rotorua station was set up at Kahukura Rugby Sports Club on Pukuatua St, and at 79 Miro St in Taupō.
A mere three people out of 20 signed in with the QR code between 1.15pm and 1.30pm, none of whom opted to provide their details on the paper form provided at the entrance.
It is possible some customers did not have mobile phones and could not use their tracer app or entered their activities manually on the app.
Community cases not only see increases in virus tests but also app use, University of Auckland research fellow Dr Andrew Chen says.
Auckland has been blocked off from the rest of the world following the community cases. Photo / Dean Purcell
However, before the latest community cases on Sunday, there had been a significant drop in scans, especially after Waitangi weekend.
"We've got MIQ all over the country [and] people are still travelling ... the virus can metaphorically teleport across the country in a short period of time," Chen said.
"People might say 'I live in the middle of nowhere, no one is going to get sick' but these places are not immune from the virus."
The three cases - a mother, father, and daughter from Papatoetoe, South Auckland - have the dangerous UK variant of the virus.
The Ministry of Health identified 21 locations of interest, despite the family rarely using the Covid-19 tracer app. None were in the Lakes or Bay of Plenty regions.
