Covid 19 coronavirus: Only six testing centres open in Auckland, none on weekends

By RNZ

Auckland's Covid community testing centres have been dramatically scaled back, with just six still operating - and none open on weekends.

Health Minister Chris Hipkins is investigating the change, saying testing must remain readily accessible.

There had been 20 dedicated community testing centres at the height of the latest Covid outbreak but most have been dropped now Auckland is at alert level 1.

One Auckland resident, who asked not be named, struggled to find somewhere to get tested at the weekend, with most GPs closed.

Healthline had told them to get a swab because they were unwell and had been in touch with someone who had recently been overseas.

But it was a Saturday morning, they could not get an appointment at the recommended clinic before it closed and could not find one open on the Sunday.

"It's quite draining when you are already sick to have to work out where you are going to go and get a test - and you're trying to be responsible and get the test done.

"We were really shocked there was nowhere available for us to do the right thing," they said.

A spokesperson for the city's district health boards said the extra pop-up centres were not needed at level 1, and GPs and urgent care clinics had testing well covered.

That included dedicated clinics where people could be tested even if they are not a patient, she said.

However, most of the clinics listed on the Auckland Regional Public Health service website do not open on Sundays.

Hipkins has asked the Ministry of Health to discuss the new hours with the district health boards.

In a statement, he said it was his "clear expectation" testing was readily available seven days a week.

The co-leader of Te Rōpū Whakakaupapa Urutā, the Māori Pandemic Group, Sue Crengle, said people should be able to get a swab easily on the day they need it.

While it was okay to wind up some testing centres when the city was at level 1, district health boards must be prepared to scale up again if needed, she said.

"If they're hearing reports of people not being able to access a test when they want one they need to take that seriously and really review the adequacy of their testing sites and the hours they're open," she said.

And everybody needed to remember to get tested if they were sick and to follow other measures to stop the disease taking off again because it was getting more prevalent around the rest of the world, she said.

"Kia mataara. Be careful, be alert because we are unique in the world and we can not be complacent," she said.

Auckland's District Health Board's spokesperson said they were continually reviewing capacity and could move quickly to respond to changes in demand as they did with the August outbreak.