WellSouth clinical director Dr Carol Atmore said RAT tests were the primary method of testing for Covid, and there were more than 50 sites across the region where residents and visitors could access tests and masks free of charge. This included 16 community sites in Dunedin.
From December 20, the Dunedin Immunisation Centre — Te Puna Araimate ki Otepoti (the former VTNZ testing centre) in Hanover St will become be a RAT test collection location and will also offer PCR testing.
PCR testing and supervised RAT tests, with clinical assessments for priority and vulnerable people, would remain available in general practices.
"Covid continues to circulate in our community and will likely increase as people move around over the holiday period," Dr Atmore said.
"It is really important for people to have tests and masks on hand, to test if they have cold and flu-like symptoms or if they are a household contact.
"It is also really important to report a positive RAT test result. This helps us to capture the spread of the virus and Covid positive patients qualify for funded care — including, in some cases, oral antiviral medications."
She also encouraged people to start planning how they might manage Covid infection over the holiday period.
A year of extremes
Covid Testing Centre clinical lead Bevan Taiaroa said having the CTC up and running in advance of Covid arriving in Dunedin in February, and its location near the tertiary precinct and Dunedin Hospital, had been vital in supporting people to access Covid testing and helping reduce the spread of the virus.
"December 6 was our first day open and we did 23 swabs, but in the early days of the outbreak in February in Dunedin that increased to 845 in one day — 3718 for the week.
"We had queues of cars and walk-in clients stretching 400 metres down the road.
"When RAT testing initially took off we were dispensing 2000-3000 RATs per day. Now, it’s more like 10 a day."
More than 40 staff were trained to work as swabbers at the testing site, working in conditions ranging from 36degC in summer to -3degC in winter.
The Malcolm St testing site was one of the last CTCs to close, following the closure of Te Kaika and sites in Invercargill and Queenstown earlier this year.
"We are grateful to all providers who worked to keep our communities safe, through Covid testing, vaccinations, and Covid care in the community work," Dr Atmore said.
Southern Region Covid testing locations
All RAT test collection sites are listed on the HealthPoint website. Dunedin has 13 sites to collect RAT tests:
- Caversham Pharmacy
- Unichem Mornington Pharmacy
- Anderson’s Exchange Pharmacy
- Roslyn Pharmacy
- Green Island Boutique Pharmacy
- Antidote Octagon
- Antidote North
- Antidote Meridian
- Countdown Pharmacy Dunedin Central
- Antidote MacAndrew
- Antidote Gardens
- Dunedin Immunisation Centre — Te Puna Araimate ki Otepoti (week of December 19)
Some community libraries will also serve as collection sites in the coming weeks.
Reporting a positive RAT test
If you test positive for Covid-19 it is important to report your RAT test result via mycovidrecord.health.nz. Results can also be reported by calling 0800 222 478 option 3.
Reporting a positive result helps health agencies understand the spread of the virus, and it also means you can receive funded (free) care from your GP or health provider.
If you test positive for Covid, you need to isolate for seven days. Your household contacts do not need to isolate, but they should continue to test daily for Covid.
