New Zealand’s top health official has been quizzed over why the Government’s expectations of border testing did not match the reality on the ground, as nine new Covid-19 cases are confirmed
Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield has admitted to “dissonance” between his ministry and the Government over the issue of border testing, but denied politicians were misled about the extent and regularity of the test regime.
He has also suggested something akin to an Alert Level 1.5 may be developed following the return of Covid-19, with greater use of physical distancing, masks and hand sanitisers to allow sustained freedoms for Kiwis.
Bloomfield has faced pressure to explain why New Zealand’s border workforce and staff at managed isolation and quarantine facilities were not being tested as often, or at the scale, as ministers had been led to believe.
Following the re-emergence of Covid-19 in the community, Health Minister Chris Hipkins has acknowledged more border tests should have taken place earlier.
On Monday morning, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Cabinet had required regular testing at the border and at managed isolation and quarantine facilities.
“That was something that Cabinet had instructed, and obviously we’ve seen from some of the data that has come out, it did not meet our expectations.”
Speaking to media, Bloomfield said he did not believe anybody had been misled by himself or health officials regarding the testing regime, which had been ramping up at facilities around the country.
“There are 32 managed isolation facilities with a large number of staff and we were working up how to ensure that all the staff there were tested…
“What I’m trying to point out is the challenge and complexity of rolling it out.”
He had been working closely with district health boards in Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury to ensure that testing rates were increasing, and had been providing the Health Minister and Cabinet with regular updates on progress.
“Just think about this as part of the suite of actions that were underway but we couldn’t suddenly flick a switch and test all members of that workforce overnight.”
“There was clearly a dissonance between what the Prime Minister thought was happening and what was happening on the ground, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t full information being provided through.”
Testing was only one part of the preventative measures put in place to stop the virus entering the country through the border, Bloomfield said.
“Just think about this as part of the suite of actions that were underway but we couldn’t suddenly flick a switch and test all members of that workforce overnight.”
There was now a dedicated testing team with extended hours working at the Ports of Auckland, with a new team going into Tauranga Port and set to expand in the coming days.
All government agency staff at the Auckland border, including immigration, Customs, biosecurity and Aviation Security officials, were also being tested.
The update came after Bloomfield announced nine new confirmed cases of Covid-19, all in the community. Seven of the new cases had already been linked to the new cluster, and four cases still under investigation were believed to have ties to the outbreak.
“I think this outbreak will give us pause for thought about what Alert Level 1 looks like and what our minimum expectations of every New Zealander and each of us might be.”
Five people were receiving hospital-level care, while 86 people linked to the Auckland cluster had now been moved into quarantine facilities.
Bloomfield said there continued to be record demand for Covid-19 tests, with 26,014 tests processed on Sunday.
It was “a pity” that some people were waiting up to five days to get their results back, he said, but the large number of tests meant unavoidable processing delays.
Asked whether he could foresee an extended period at Level 2 for Auckland or other parts of New Zealand, Bloomfield instead suggested an amended Level 1 with heightened health measures could be the best way forward.
“I think this outbreak will give us pause for thought about what Alert Level 1 looks like and what our minimum expectations of every New Zealander and each of us might be,” he said.
“I think we should aim to get back to life as normal as possible, but the new normal I think will include perhaps a little more physical distancing, more frequent availability and use of hand gels, possibly even use of masks in some settings…
“I sense that all New Zealanders would prefer we stayed in Alert Level 1 and would be prepared to modify what our alert levels are.”
