Cheat sheet: Health NZ’s new Covid-19 testing advice

Monday, 4 March 2024

Health NZ - Te Whatu Ora has updated its Covid-19 testing advice for household contacts - so, what do these changes mean for you?

Wait, people are still getting Covid?

As of February 2024, new daily Covid-19 infections were still in the high hundreds, coming off the back of NZ’s “fifth wave” spurred by a new variant over the end-of-year holidays.

For the last fortnight, the daily average for new Covid infections was 875.

So, what are the changes?

Health NZ says household contacts of a person who has tested positive for Covid-19, but who don’t have symptoms themselves, will no longer need to test for five days with a RAT.

From Monday, only household contacts who develop one or more Covid-19 symptoms are recommended to stay at home and test for the virus.

Household contacts of a person who has tested positive for Covid-19, but who don’t have symptoms themselves, will no longer need to test for five days with a RAT.

Testing with a RAT is recommended if a person is presenting the following symptoms: a runny nose, sore throat, cough, fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, headache, loss of smell or taste, and/or shortness of breath.

What do the experts think?

University of Canterbury Professor and Covid-19 modeller, Michael Plank, said the changes reflect “the reality of the situation that we're in at the moment.”

“Although Covid is still in the community, the waves that we've been having have become much smaller, and the population has higher levels of immunity now, so fewer people are getting infected,” Plank said.

University of Canterbury Professor and Covid-19 modeller, Michael Plank, says the changes reflect “the reality of the situation that we're in at the moment.”

“Out of the people who are getting infected, fewer people are needing to go to hospital or developing severe illness as a result.”

Can we still get RATs for free?

Yes - until June 2024, you can continue to receive free RATs from participating sites, which can be found through the Healthpoint website or by free calling 0800 222 478 and choosing option 1.

No decisions have been made on the supply of RATs past June.

Are there any other changes to Covid advice?

Health NZ says all other public health recommendations in regards to Covid-19 remain the same.

Isolation is recommended for five days, starting at day zero, which begins when your symptoms started or when you test positive, depending on whichever came first.