Targets for speedy Covid-19 testing were not met during Auckland's February cluster.
Latest Ministry of Health figures showed 63 percent of people who tested positive got results within 24 hours. Photo: RNZ / Simon Rogers
The Ministry of Health has released its latest contact tracing figures, which cover the first two weeks of the cluster, when 11 of the 15 cases came to light.
It shows it fell short of its target to have 80 percent of people who test positive getting their results within 24 hours.
It only reached 63 percent.
The ministry said that was because of the sudden increase in testing as Aucklanders raced to respond to the latest cluster.
But the labs performed well in those circumstances, with 80 percent of people given their results within 34 hours, a spokesperson said.
The figures also reveal how much contact tracing has improved.
Ninety-eight percent of close contacts were in isolation within three days of a person returning a positive test, well above the 80 percent target.
But they were still below target in some measures - like how quickly positive cases and their close contacts made it into isolation from the time of exposure to the disease or their first symptom.
Epidemiologist Michael Baker said that was something the community needed to take some of the responsibility for.
It partly reflected how much people were aware of their symptoms and how quickly took action if they had them, he said.
During the February outbreak there was some delay in the time it took for some people to isolate if they had been identified as close contacts but there was also confusion over the messaging from health authorities with new categories of contact introduced - close plus and casual plus.
That would be even more important if there was a travel bubble with Australia, and work would need to happen to make sure they were well briefed on what to do if they developed symptoms here, he said.
"It is vital that they isolate or quarantine where they are. It might be in a hotel, they might be travelling around the country...but this is another group we need to make sure is totally engaged with the system in New Zealand," he said.
Contact tracing was now in very good shape, he said.
It was much better than during the August cluster, when the Ministry was falling short on many levels, he said.
