Covid 19 coronavirus: Worried Rotorua residents face 5-hour wait for test

Worried residents overwhelmed a Rotorua Covid-19 testing station, queuing in traffic 2km long and waiting up to five hours for a test.

The centre at the Rotorua International Stadium had cars snaking through the car park and a queue that went down Devon St West and all the way up Pukehangi Rd.

The Rotorua International Stadium Facebook page advised people to not come down as they might not be seen.

It said the wait time was about five hours and the queue was about 2km long.

"Our staff are working as quickly as they can under immense pressure."

People who did not have symptoms and were not requested for a test were asked not to queue as they were taking up the space of someone who may be a priority, the post said.

The Lakes District Health Board had encouraged anyone with symptoms to go along to its Covid-19 testing centres after it was revealed from Auckland travelled to Rotorua while showing symptoms of the virus.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks to media with Ashley Bloomfield. Photo / File

A Lakes District Health Board spokeswoman said in a statement the board regretted people had had such long waits over the past two days.

She said the demand had been unprecedented and the figures had surpassed any testing figures previously for the district but the DHB had no plans to set up additional testing centres, citing a strain on resources.

"We have added a second centre in Rotorua, the one at Rotorua International Stadium which is due to continue for the next three days.

"We will assess tomorrow whether we need to extend the operation of this centre. Because of the demand we increased the number of staff in the facility during the day to provide additional capacity."

"We have resourcing difficulties, given that we have winter pressures in our hospitals, have health staff at three managed isolation centres and have the testing centres. The DHB is grateful for the help offered by primary care and community providers at this testing time."

It comes after the news two confirmed cases were in the city at the weekend, visiting eateries, tourist spots and a supermarket.

On Wednesday, 389 people were tested at the Vaughan Rd testing centre in Rotorua between 9am to 4pm, and 165 people at the Miro St centre in Taupō.

Two people who tested positive for Covid-19 visited eight businesses in, including eateries and a supermarket.

A Lakes DHB spokeswoman confirmed all affected businesses were contacted by Toi Te Ora-Public Health between 4pm and 7pm on Tuesday.

Rotorua residents awaiting a Covid-19 test at the Rotorua International Stadium pop-up centre. Photo / Ben Fraser

Toi Te Ora Public Health and the National Contact Tracing Centre are following up all the contacts in the places the visitors went to and will be informing people of what they need to do.
The hours of operation for the testing centres have been extended, and both centres in Rotorua and Taupō are now open from 9am-4pm seven days a week.

Airport still operating

Rotorua Airport still has at least two return flights from Auckland each day.

Airport chief executive Mark Gibb said there was no information from the Government or the Ministry of Health as of yesterday to indicate they should be asking people the reasons for their travels.

The airport also has three return flights from Wellington and one return flight from Christchurch.

Gibb said social distancing and hygiene measures inside the airport had been ramped up.

While there was more fluidity in level 2, if the country was to move to level 3 or 4, it would break the airport.

"It will have a demonstrable impact on people's ability to travel," he said, with the previous time in lockdown and level 3 proving detrimental to the airport and passenger numbers.

Rotorua Airport chief executive Mark Gibb. Photo / File

There were 16,000 passengers in March this year compared to 27,000 the year before.

In April, there were just four passengers compared to 25,000 in 2019.

Tighter restrictions would be a "hell of a shame" for the airport and local economy, he said, as airports acted as a barometer to how a city was tracking.

An AirNZ spokesman said there had been no changes to the domestic network at this stage but while Auckland was at alert level 3, travel was restricted in and out of that region.

Travel is allowed in and out of the city for the purpose of returning to your usual residence, with no plan to leave, or as part of essential work.

The airline said customers on board would social distance.

The airline said Aviation Security Service (AVSEC) would question whether customers at the airport were there to get home or for essential purposes.

A Civil Aviation Authority spokesman said they were asked by the Ministry of Transport to screen passengers yesterday afternoon.

They were unable to respond by deadline to questions on whether every passenger leaving Auckland was screened for their reason for travel.