April 01, 2020
Ministry gears up for more COVID-19 testing
The Health Ministry has changed the case definition for testing for COVID-19.
Dr Caroline McElnay, the ministry’s director of public health, says the anyone with respiratory symptoms consistent with the coronavirus should be considered for testing regardless of travel history or contact with a confirmed case.
That will mean an upsurge in testing, but Dr McElnay says the system can cope, with current capacity at 3700 tests a day, almost double the daily average over the past week.
Capacity will be increased with the addition of two more labs by the end of next week, adding to the eight already processing tests.
The number of cases increased overnight by 61, including 47 confirmed and 14 probable, bringing the total to 708.
There are 14 people in hospital, including two in a stable condition in ICU, and 82 cases have recovered.
Most of the cases to date have a strong link to overseas travel, with community transmissions still at only about 1 per cent of cases.
That figure may change with the extension of testing.
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