Covid 19 coronavirus: Testing on the rise in the Rotorua Lakes District

Health Minister Chris Hipkins is urging people to stay vigilant. Photo / File

Covid-19 testing has increased in the Rotorua Lakes District amid calls by health officials for people to be "ever-vigilant" to the risk.

A Lakes District Health Board spokeswoman said 148 people were swab tested at the two testing clinics in Rotorua and Taupō last week, which included 102 in Rotorua.

The week before, 58 tests were carried out in Rotorua and 33 in Taupō.

"There have been occasional queues of three or four cars at the testing clinics, but usually, people will be tested within 30 minutes of arriving," the spokeswoman said.

Across the two Lakes district health board testing clinics, 7511 people had been swab tested since March.

Meanwhile, 655 people were tested in the Bay of Plenty District Health Board area last week, compared to 532 the previous week - a 23 per cent increase.

Bay of Plenty District Health Board incident controller Dr Joe Bourne said the volumes of people presenting to general practices for Covid-19 testing had increased over the past two weeks.

"There was an increase in testing last week, but we think this is driven more by the general messaging encouraging people to continue to get tested if they have symptoms.

"Anyone with symptoms of Covid-19 should avoid public spaces, work, and attending school until they feel better.

"People who do have symptoms should wear a mask when in public particularly until their test result comes back," Bourne said.

Ministry of Health data revealed there have been 1220 confirmed cases nationwide, which included one confirmed case yesterday and 350 probable cases.

A man in his 20s who arrived from Melbourne on July 30, tested positive on day 12, and is being cared for an Auckland quarantine facility.

There have been 22 deaths and 1526 people have recovered from the virus, including 47 in the Bay of Plenty and 16 in the Lakes district health board areas.

Currently, there are 22 active cases in managed isolation and quarantine facilities.

Health Minister Chris Hipkins said the country simply cannot afford to be complacent, despite all the gains made in managing the risk.

"Our best chance of preserving the gains we have all made, of keeping the freedoms that we all enjoy is to stay ever-vigilant," Hipkins told NZME.

He said New Zealand was the envy of much of the rest of the world, but "that could all change and change very quickly".

Some golden rules at alert level 1:

If you're sick, stay home. Don't go to work or school. Don't socialise.
If concerned about having symptoms call the Healthline or your GP for advice.
Wash your hands. Wash your hands. Wash your hands.
Sneeze and cough into your elbow, and regularly disinfect shared surfaces.
If told by health authorities to self-isolate do so immediately.
Keep track of where you've been, when and who you've seen to help contact tracing if needed. Use the NZ Covid Tracer app as a handy way of doing this.
Stay vigilant. Play it safe by keeping a distance from people you don't know.

- Source: Toi Te Ora Public Health Service