COVID-19 updates
Always use The Ministry of Health website as the source of correct and up to date information
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Please can you ensure the below update and attachment is distributed out to reach General Practice and Urgent Medical Care facilities and Pharmacies via your communications channels, thank you. Kia ora koutou As you will be aware, the Wellington region moved to Alert Level 2 at 6:00pm on 23 June 2021. The rest of the country remains in Alert Level 1. Alert Level settings will be reviewed on Sunday 27 June 2021. In response the Ministry of Health is prioritising PPE supply to the Greater Wellington region following the Alert Level 2 escalation. Contingency supply provided in March 2021, will be sufficient to cover the immediate response across the health and disability sectors nationwide. continued...
Please visit the Ministry of Health website for information on the Principles of Supply or email any questions about PPE to COVID.HealthSupplyChain@health.govt.nz where they will be referred to the appropriate subject matter expert for response. If you need to make contact with HCL or Onelink regarding PPE, the contact details at HCL for those located outside the Northern Region are email: mohppeordering@prnzl.co.nz or phone 0800 657775. For those located within the Northern Region, Onelink’s contact details, are mohppe@onelink.co.nz or phone 09 815 2612. Thank you for your support and importantly thank you for the work you are doing to help keep New Zealand safe. Ngā mihi nui COVID-19 Health Supply Chain Kia ora koutou,
We are expecting an increased demand for COVID-19 testing after the recent announcement of a positive COVID-19 case who visited Wellington from Sydney from 19 until 21 June 2021. Communications are now being released around locations of interest, all those who have visited a place of interest at the outlined time and date are considered a close contact, and therefore required to stay home and get a test. Accordingly, there will be a surge in demand for COVID-19 testing in the wider Wellington region. Please support our Community Testing Centres by providing COVID-19 testing services to those people who require it. Primary health providers would not be expected to charge for this test or consultation. Primary Health Care workers who provide testing at this time should use the current PHO / DHB contract arrangement for payment. The Ministry of Health has issued a surveillance code to help group together persons requiring a test due to attending a location of interest. Please include the code: SURV-WLG1 on the accompanying lab form. Thank you in advance, although this is pertinent to Wellington, we are informing our wider PHO network in case contact tracing identifies further contacts nationwide. Kia ora koutou Please find attached ‘Interim guidance for the use of P2/N95 particulate respirators by general practice or urgent medical care health providers’. This is an update on the previous interim guidance released on 18 February 2021. The new interim guidance simplifies and clarifies the guidance provided in February following consultation with sector leads and the national IPC TAG group. It will be incorporated into the next update of the Primary Care Quick Reference Guide. Click here for the P2 N95 interim Guidance Ngā mihi Practice Support Team Kia ora koutou, Recent community acquired cases of COVID-19 in Auckland have been the B1.1.7 variant first identified in the United Kingdom, as confirmed by whole genome sequencing. These recent cases have been presenting with the more atypical symptoms of COVID-19. We also saw this presentation with the recent community case in Northland who was infected with the variant of SARS-CoV-2 first identified in South Africa. Please be aware of these less typical symptoms, which may include muscle aches and pains and fatigue (which individuals may attribute to causes such as exercise), or only; fever, diarrhoea, headache, nausea/vomiting, or confusion/irritability. See the Ministry of Health website for details. It is still important to test for COVID-19 if a patient presents with any acute respiratory infection with at least one of the following symptoms (with or without fever): · new or worsening cough · sore throat · shortness of breath · coryza – head cold (eg, runny nose, sneezing, post-nasal drip) · anosmia – loss of sense of smell Thank you again for the important part you play in supporting the health and well-being of New Zealanders. We appreciate your continued partnership in our response. Ngā mihi nui Director of Public Health Ministry of Health |
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