April 21, 2020
Te Tai Tokerau steps up Maori COVID testing
Northland District Health Board has teamed up with Māori providers to increase COVID-19 testing across the rohe.
Medical Officer of Health Catherine Jackson says the nine providers have well-established relationships with their communities and whānau, experienced staff and established mobile health services which can offer the tests as well as influenza vaccines.
She says testing rates for Māori are already higher than for non-Māori across all parts of Te Tai Tokerau.
The partnership will extend that into remote areas, and also reach kaumātua and kuia who are reluctant to come out of their bubbles and communities because they are worried about putting themselves at risk.”
There are also seven community-based testing centres which remain open seven days a week.
So far there have been more than 3000 COVID-19 tests carried out in Northland which have found 25 confirmed and 2 probable cases.
The confirmed cases include 8 Māori, five of whom have recovered, 17 Pākehā and two other.
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