Senior responsible officer for the Covid-19 response, Canterbury DHB, Dr Helen Skinner, said the DHB has increased capacity after the latest community case was announced.
The Orchard Rd testing facility in Christchurch is providing six times its usual capacity and stayed open late last night to deal with demand.
The Ngā Hau e Whā marae is operating at its maximum capacity and the Ashburton testing site had added additional capacity yesterday and will remain open 10am-2pm every day.
"While we have additional staff to support the increase in demand, people should expect longer wait times in the queue to be tested."
"I arrived getting on to about 11.30am and I got it at about 4.30pm. It was frustrating, at first you're kind of okay but after a while, you start to get a bit restless.
O'Connor-Harding said she would like to acknowledge the hard-working team at the testing station.
"They were so kind which I really appreciated as I had never had a test before. It was very quick and painless."
Four portaloos have been delivered to help those waiting in line.
People at Bishopdale New World appeared to mostly be abiding by the Covid-19 protocols on Thursday.
Skinner said the Canterbury health system is well placed to manage any cases of Covid-19 that may be confirmed in the region.
"We care for people with infectious diseases that spread in the same way as Covid-19 each year, and our teams have well-established protocols for managing any cases."
She said in the event of a case or cases in Canterbury, our health system has appropriate protocols and procedures in place.
People are advised to get tested if they have visited a location of interest or have cold and flu symptoms. Details of testing centres in Canterbury can be found here.
