COVID-19 testing
Updated 5 Oct 2021
A number of cases of COVID-19 have been found in the Raglan and suburban Hamilton areas. A testing programme is under way to determine whether the extend of its' spread so far. One case presented with a classical "Influenza Like Illness" cough, fever and body aches. But there is no Influenza Virus present in the Waikato. So we encourage people to come and get tested if they have a respiratory illness, whether a cold or sore throat, a major flu-like illness or abdominal pain with fever. Public Health will also recommend testing of selected asymptomatic people.
Please refer to national guidance on who should be tested. Locations where people can get tested in the community are shown here.
Lab testing is done 7 days a week. Expected turnaround time is <48 hours and is usually <24 hr for specimens collected at Waikato Hospital. Selected cases may be tested stat (GeneXpert) but our capacity is limited to 10 or 20 cases each day. It is best to walk the specimen to the lab so it can be recognised as needing rapid testing, and turnaround time is <2 hours.
Dr Chris Mansell
Clinical Microbiologist
Latest laboratory specimen collection information can be found here
