Waikato DHB COVID-19 Level 4

Tuesday, 24 August 2021, 12:43 pm
Press Release: Waikato District Health Board

Please find below an update from Waikato DHB on our Alert Level 4 response.

Changes since our last media advisory on Monday, 23 August 2021 are provided in red.

COVID-19 Testing Centres

Community Testing Centres remain in place in Coromandel and Hamilton with updated hours below:

Coromandel – Coromandel Town car park

Woollams Avenue, Coromandel Township

10am – 1pm today, 9am – 4pm, Wednesday – Friday

Hamilton – Claudelands Events Centre

Gate 3, Entrance off Brooklyn Road

10am – 6pm today, additional hours for this week will be confirmed later today (check our website or Healthpoint)

Hamilton – Founders Theatre car park

Entrance off Norton Road

8am – 4pm, 7 days a week

The Tokoroa pop-up Community Testing Centre is now closed as the initial surge in demand for tests has been met. However, testing is available at the following locations:

Tokoroa Family Health

Tokoroa Hospital
8.30am - 5pm
Call the clinic on 07 886 5431 to make a booking in advance.

Tokoroa Medical Centre

35-75 Maraetai Rd, Tokoroa
8.30am - 5pm
Call the clinic on 07 886 8777 to make a booking in advance.

Update on COVID-19 testing in the Waikato DHB region

On Monday 23 August:

· 45 COVID-19 tests were taken at the Coromandel testing centre.

· 252 COVID-19 tests were taken at Claudelands Events Centre in Hamilton.

· 261 COVID-19 tests were taken at the Founders testing centre in Hamilton.

Across the broader Waikato DHB region, 1350 tests were processed on Monday 23 August by the Waikato DHB lab.

General practices across the region continue to test enrolled patients and there is a network of designated practices testing both enrolled and unenrolled patients. In Thames-Coromandel, these practices are:

· Coromandel Family Health

· Thames Medical Centre

· Whangamata Medical Centre

· Mercury Bay Medical Centre

· Paeora Medical Centre

· Waihi Family Doctors

· Waihi Health

· Te Korowai Hauora o Hauraki in Thames and Whitianga.

The DHB continues to closely monitor the situation and is ensuring additional testing capacity is available if needed. An up-to-date list of COVID-19 testing options can be found at the Healthpoint website.

If you have cold or flu-like symptoms and are concerned about your risk of COVID-19, please ring Healthline (0800 358 5453). They will tell you if you need to be tested and what to do next.

· It is free to get a COVID-19 test

· GPs are able to provide assessment and testing – please phone your practice first

· Please do not turn up to your GP without an appointment

· After hours, you can be seen at an urgent care clinic

· We recommend you take your NHI number with you, which can speed up the timeframe to receive your test results.

Update on COVID-19 vaccinations in the Waikato DHB region

As of 9am on 24 August 2021, 200,349 vaccinations had been delivered to Waikato residents; 39.3% have had at least one dose and 19.4% of the region’s eligible population is fully vaccinated.

From 1 September appointments for 12-15-year-olds can be made online at bookmyvaccine.nz.

Parents and caregivers who have an existing appointment and want to bring their children along are asked to phone 0800 28 29 26 before coming along to check if the vaccination site has space to add your 12 to 15-year-old to the booking. If space is not available, parents can cancel their booking and create a new one later at a time that can fit other members of the family in. There is no guarantee vaccination sites will be able to take extra family members alongside people who already have a booking as some sites are small.

A reminder that all COVID-19 vaccinations centres in the Waikato are operating under Alert Level 4 conditions. This means they may have to reduce capacity to allow for infection control measures like social distancing. The reduced capacity means we may need to postpone some appointments. If we need to postpone your appointment you will be contacted by bookmyvaccine, Waikato DHB or your healthcare provider.

If you have a booking and don’t receive a call, please attend your vaccination booking as scheduled, making sure you are following health measures and wear a face covering or mask. Please don’t attend your appointment if you are unwell or have had a COVID-19 test and are awaiting results. Stay home if you are sick and get advice on whether you need a COVID-19 test.

We are vaccinating by appointment only. Please double check your appointment notification for full details as some people are turning up for their appointment at the wrong vaccination centre.

Changes to Waikato DHB services

· Following the Government’s announcement that New Zealand will remain at Level 4 for the time being, all current Alert Level 4 protocols remain in place for Waikato DHB’s hospitals and services.

· At Alert Level 4 it is necessary for us to defer all non-urgent outpatient appointments and elective procedures until further notice. We are contacting all affected individuals directly. If you have any questions or concerns, please call the clinics to discuss.

· Renal patients - dialysis appointments will continue to go ahead for renal patients. Please attend your dialysis appointment as you normally would, and wear a face covering or mask.

· Cancer patients - Those patients receiving chemotherapy and radiation therapy will continue to do so as planned. Please come to your scheduled appointments, and wear a face covering or mask.

· Our Emergency Department remains open. However, please do ensure this is used for emergencies only. Patients can have one support person with them in the Emergency Department at Alert Level 4. Exceptions are outlined below.

· Maternity patients - All of our maternity services are open 24 hours a day 7 days a week. If you need urgent maternity care in Women’s Assessment Unit or Delivery Suite or you have an appointment at Antenatal Clinic please attend. Monitoring and caring for the health of you and your baby is important at this time. We have put in place processes to keep you safe during level 4 lockdown. More information is available on our website.

· Urgent (life-threatening) Acute surgery - All urgent/acute and emergency surgeries and procedures will continue.

· Meals on Wheels - Meals on Wheels will continue to be distributed, however there may be some delays due to driver availability. Meal delivery will be ‘contactless’ with drivers wearing PPE and following strict hand hygiene protocols.

· GP Appointments - If you have an appointment during Alert Level 4, please call your General Practice team for advice on whether your consultation can be done over the phone, by video or in person. All General Practices are open.

· Pharmacy - Community Pharmacies are essential health services and will be open for prescriptions and over the counter medications. Please do not visit if you are sick. Always wear a mask and practice physical distancing.

· Radiology - We continue to provide radiology services to clinically urgent and time sensitive patients. All other radiology appointments at Waikato DHB facilities - other than those needing acute care - have been postponed and will be rescheduled as soon as possible.

· Anyone needing immediate or urgent help should seek medical care by calling 111 for an ambulance or going to their nearest hospital emergency department.

· Thank you for your understanding and cooperation at this time. As always, our priority is the safety and care of our patients, whānau and staff.

Visitors to our hospitals at Alert Level 4

· To keep patients, whānau and staff safe, members of the public will be unable to visit patients in our hospitals, clinics, or other community facilities. We know how important the support of whānau and friends is to our patients, so this was a difficult decision to make.

· Only support people or caregivers are able to visit inpatients.

o One support person for patients presenting to the Emergency Department

o One caregiver for child health services

o One support person for birthing facilities

o No children are permitted on the wards

In some cases, exceptions to this policy will be made on essential and compassionate grounds– for example, a parent or guardian who is supporting a child.

o Any exceptions will be at the discretion of the charge nurse manager and will require prior agreement. (by phoning the ward)

o The visitor will undergo screening before they enter to ensure they are well, have clean hands, and are using appropriate personal protective equipment

· We encourage patients and families to use technology where available to maintain contact in these difficult times.

Places of interest

· The cases identified so far have been out and about in the community, so there is a large number of locations of interest. The number of contacts of cases are expected to grow.

· Public health officials are rapidly interviewing cases, identifying their close contacts, tracing those contacts, and ensuring they’re in isolation and getting tested.

· Everybody should keep an eye on locations of interest on the Ministry of Health website which is constantly updated. Please pay particular attention to the window of time when the confirmed cases visited a location.

© Scoop Media

Waikato District Health Board

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