So far, no sign that Covid’s moved further south than Tokoroa. Over 500 people were tested for Covid yesterday in Hawke’s Bay alone, all negative.
And while it’s a bugger we have to wind back our freedoms for the next 12 days at Level 2 (Auckland, the centre of a new mystery outbreak, remains at Level 3 until 26 August), it wasn’t exactly unexpected. As BayBuzz reported two weeks ago, it was only a matter of time before we saw a return to the ‘stop it and stamp it out’ phase.
At least this time we know the drill. The sanitiser’s out, the pens and paper, the QR codes, the template screening questions. There are masks in the waiting rooms, Perspex screens at the counters, friendly Covid guardians in foyers.
From a healthcare perspective, everything’s well in place, says the DHB, to handle any local outbreak should there be one, with ramped up testing and tracing capacity, and safe processes for managing both staff and patients across the board.
We just have to manage ourselves and our momentary disappointments (no team sports!), keep perspective, chin up and all that, and if sick … get tested.
Getting tested
To refresh, if you’re feeling under the weather, symptoms to get tested for include one or more of the following: fever, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, a runny nose or loss of smell.
You can ring one of the numbers below to immediately book a test (no walk-ins), or call your doctor.
- Napier: 06 650 4000 open 9am-5pm Mon-Sun.
- Hastings: 06 281 2644 open 8am-8pm Mon-Sun.
- Wairoa: 06 838 8333 open 8.30am-5pm Mon-Fri.
- Central Hawke’s Bay residents need to be referred from their doctor or Healthline: 0800 358 5453.
Hawke’s Bay now has capacity to process its own swabs (meaning a quicker turn around), with test results usually returned within 24-72 hours.
For more on HB readiness: If a second Covid wave hits HB