COVID-19

Although the last community case of COVID-19 in our region was reported on 15th May, COVID-19 has dominated Community and Public Health's work through the winter, with 44 further cases in Christchurch’s managed isolation and quarantine hotels, including the 29 cases to date in the current fishing crew group.

CPH staff are working closely with the CDHB and primary care health teams to manage the ongoing risk at isolation and quarantine hotels, as well as managing any new cases and their contacts within the hotels.

At the border, CPH staff are overseeing entry screening for all international airport arrivals, as well as overseeing ship crew testing and quarantine arrangements and assessing shore leave applications at the ports of Lyttelton and Timaru.

CPH preparations for future up-scaling of community case and contact management are well advanced. However, at this stage we expect that further community cases will be transferred to a managed facility, along with any of their close contacts who cannot safely complete quarantine requirements in the community.

COVID-19 testing for patients presenting to primary and secondary care with respiratory illness remains an important cornerstone of New Zealand’s COVID-19 strategy, and the latest Ministry of Health testing advice is available on the Ministry website.  CPH works with the HealthPathways team to align public health and primary care advice, and the latest CPH public health protocols are always available on the CPH website.

Getting Through Together

Canterbury’s All Right? campaign expanded this year to become the national COVID-19-focused Getting Through Together campaign. Our Christchurch-based team has been supporting community wellbeing across the country with a range of online and printed tools and resources for health professionals and the public. Read about the campaign and order resources on the Getting Through Together website.