MOH message: Testing requirements for workforce of permitted businesses operating under Alert Level 3
The Ministry of Health requested the Dental Council to issue the following message to oral health practitioners.
Testing requirements for workforce of permitted businesses operating under under alert level 3
As part of the Ministry’s targeted approach to COVID-19 testing in Auckland, businesses permitted to operate under Alert Level 3 are asked to take part in surveillance testing of their workforce.
Groups already undertaking surveillance testing, such as permitted workers crossing Alert Level boundaries or border workers, do not need to undergo this additional testing.
This testing is not mandatory, but the Ministry strongly encourages workers who have no COVID-19 symptoms to undertake two COVID-19 swab tests, at least five days apart while Auckland is at Alert Level 3.
Workers who have already had a test since Auckland entered Alert Level 3 are requested to have another test at least five days since their first test.
Workers who have no symptoms do not need to isolate while they await their test result and can continue their normal daily life under Alert Level 3 restrictions.
People who are permitted to work mix with a lot more people and testing in a higher Alert Level setting will:
- provide increased assurance that there are not undetected cases of COVID-19 in the community
- help with early detection to enable contact tracing to stamp the virus out.
The workers in this group are those people who are either working in essential businesses, or those who have gone back to work at Alert Level 3. They will be moving around in a wide range of settings, so this testing will help the Ministry gain increased assurance that the virus is not transmitted as they move about.
Testing for this purpose is free and can be undertaken at a community testing centres, GPs or urgent care centres. For a full list of testing locations go to the Healthpoint website
Read the updated testing plan and guidance on the Ministry of Health website.