Authorities prepare for another rush on Covid-19 testing in Nelson
Thursday, 30 December 2021
Nelson's health authorities are prepared for another potential rush on Covid-19 testing and vaccinations following New Zealand’s first community cases of Omicron.
Nelson Bays Primary Health chief executive Sara Shaughnessy said across the Nelson and Marlborough regions 170 people were tested for Covid-19 on Wednesday, 70 of whom were at Nelson’s Saxton Field testing site – an increase on the 30 tests the Saxton site was doing daily during the Christmas break.
On Thursday, 147 people had Covid-19 tests across Nelson and Marlborough.
Shaughnessy said it was possible the first community cases of Omicron in New Zealand this week might trigger another rush on Covid-19 testing in Nelson, if people in the region – including holidaymakers - were identified as close contacts.
To be prepared, the Saxton Field testing site would now be open all New Year weekend, including the public holidays, she said, as would the vaccination centres in Queen St, Richmond and Paru Paru Rd, Nelson.
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She said health authorities recognised some people in Nelson might be “concerned or worried” about the Omicron cases, so it was important to be prepared with testing and vaccination options in place over the New Year break.
“We just want to be vigilant on behalf of our community.”
On Thursday The Ministry of Health confirmed New Zealand’s second community case of Omicron – an Air New Zealand crew member who worked on a flight between Auckland and Sydney on December 24. The first Omicron case, UK music artist DJ Dimension aka Robert Etheridge, was announced as being positive with the variant on late Wednesday evening.
Shaughnessy also expected another rush on vaccinations from January 5, when adults over the age of 18 who had their second dose at least 4 months ago would be able to visit walk-in vaccination sites for a booster dose. Extra vaccination “pods” at vaccination clinics had been added to cope with demand.
She said while the Nelson region was a holiday destination, and they wanted people to enjoy their holidays, they also wanted people who were unwell with any symptoms of Covid-19 to get tested for the virus.