The increasing use of rapid antigen tests (RATs) will relieve pressure on the Waikato DHB laboratory processing Covid tests. Photo / Bevan Conley
The increasing use of rapid antigen tests (RATs) will relieve pressure on the Waikato DHB laboratory processing Covid tests. Photo / Bevan Conley
The current high demand for Covid testing in the Waikato is delaying the return of test results with non-priority test results taking up to seven days to be returned.
High priority swabs are being processed within 48 hours.
The Waikato DHB said their laboratory continues to expand capacity and the increasing use of rapid antigen tests (RATs) will also relieve pressure on the laboratory, ensuring more timely test results.
A new testing regime where RATs will be used as the primary test instead of PCR tests is being rolled out, meaning symptomatic people and asymptomatic close contacts whose RAT is positive will be considered a case and do not need to be verified through a PCR test. This will further relieve pressure on the system.
The waiting times at Hamilton testing centres have eased with the rollout of RATs at Greenwood and Founders Theatre testing sites this week.
RATs are also being rolled out to the other Waikato Covid-19 testing sites and general practices are gearing up to provide RATs over the coming weeks.
The DHB reminds people who complete a RAT to register the result on Mycovidrecord.health.nz as this will link them up to ensure their welfare and manaki needs are met.
However, the DHB also said there were still high numbers of tests being requested for those who do not meet the criteria.
"People should only get tested if they have cold or flu symptoms, have been identified as a close contact of a case, or have been asked to get tested by a health official."
The waiting times in front of Hamilton testing centres have eased with the rollout of RATs the Founders Theatre and Greenwood testing site this week. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer
Meanwhile, Waikato District Council is preparing for Omicron and mitigating the potential effects on staff, services and communities.
Chief executive Gavin Ion said while the outbreak was proving "particularly hard to predict", the council was expecting similar disruptions to what they experienced last year.
"The priority is to ensure that our core services can continue to run. This includes services like rubbish and recycling collections, water supply and treating wastewater – the non-negotiable things that impact the day-to-day lives of our communities.
"Our business continuity plan provides one layer of defence with our staff already operating in separated bubbles to manage the risk of exposure, illness and isolation. However, this could still cause a disruption to services where staff availability was already minimal, including at our offices and libraries where we were already recruiting for vacancies."
