Working to prevent the spread of COVID-19
Community and Public Health stood up their response to COVID-19 in just two hours in late January 2020 with staff ceasing ‘business as usual’ work. Every effort, hour and individual was focused on this response until September 2022. Staff were involved in the local COVID-19 response in many ‘behind the scenes’ ways across Canterbury, South Canterbury, West Coast and the Chatham Islands.
Currently Te Mana Ora | Community and Public Health is focussed on minimising the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable communities.
Get the latest information on COVID-19
The Health Information and Services website from Te Whatu Ora provides the latest news and health information for the public about COVID-19, including:
- What symptoms you need to look out for;
- What to do if you test positive for COVID-19;
- How to report your RAT result;
- Free COVID-19 healthcare available for eligible people;
- Getting antiviral medicines to treat COVID-19;
- How to protect yourself and others from COVID-19;
- Wearing face masks to help prevent getting or spreading COVID-19; and
- How to get emotional and mental wellbeing support.
Don’t be the person who brings COVID-19 to the party!
Go well by taking a test BEFORE you:
- visit friends and whānau – especially anyone who’s at higher risk; or
- go to an event or gathering.
Think about who it might affect if you accidentally pass COVID on. If there’s going to be at-risk friends or whānau around, a quick test can help keep them safe.
You may have COVID, but not have any symptoms. Some people with COVID can pass it on to others 1 to 2 days before showing symptoms.
A positive RAT shows when you are infectious and can spread COVID-19 to others.
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora publishes the latest COVID-19 case numbers – updated weekly.
You can call Healthline for health advice, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 0800 611 116.
Translation services are available in over 40 languages, and there is the option to use NZ Relay Services.
Learn about COVID-19 vaccines and boosters
The best way to protect yourself, your kaumātua and whānau is to get vaccinated.
Everyone in New Zealand aged 5 or over can get a free COVID-19 vaccination. It does not matter what your visa or citizenship status is.
Children aged 6 months to 4 years can get a paediatric vaccine if they are at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19.
Talk with your family doctor or other health professional if you have concerns about having the COVID-19 vaccine.
You can also call the COVID Vaccination Healthline for information on COVID vaccines and boosters, 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week on 0800 28 29 26.
The Health Information and Services website from Te Whatu Ora has the latest information about COVID-19 vaccines, including:
- Getting a COVID-19 vaccine including the different types available;
- Getting a booster jab; and
- Possible side effects of the COVID-19 vaccines.
You can check when you are due for a booster on My Health Record or on your purple COVID-19 Vaccine appointment card – if you have one.
Read or download resources on the COVID-19 vaccine – available in numerous languages and for those with learning difficulties (Ministry of Health).
Updated COVID-19 vaccine available from March 2024
A vaccine to combat the newer strains of COVID-19 is now available to New Zealanders.
Pharmac has approved the transition to the updated COVID-19 vaccine for the XBB.1.5 strain to be used in New Zealand from 7 March 2024, says Pharmac’s Director Pharmaceuticals Geraldine
MacGibbon.
The XBB vaccine is more effective against more recent subvariants of COVID-19 in New Zealand. The XBB vaccine will be funded for these eligible groups:
- everyone aged 30 years and over;
- people aged 16 to 29 who are pregnant; and
- people aged 12 to 29 at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19.
The XBB vaccine is especially recommended for those who are more likely to get seriously unwell if they get COVID-19. This includes:
- people aged 65 and older;
- Māori and Pacific people aged 50 and older;
- residents of aged care facilities; and
- severely immunocompromised people aged 12 years and over who have a medical condition that increases the risk of severe illness from COVID-19.
Health NZ National Public Health Service National Director Nick Chamberlain says that COVID-19 is not a seasonal illness, and we’ve seen a rise in COVID-19 cases over the summer.
“If you’re eligible, you can get a vaccination if it’s been at least six months since your last COVID-19 vaccine or if you have never had one before. It’s recommended that you wait at least
six months since your last COVID-19 infection.”
Booking and getting your COVID-19 vaccine
You can book COVID vaccinations online from Book My Vaccine.
You can also call the national COVID Vaccination Healthline on 0800 28 29 26 (8am to 8pm 7 days a week) and make a booking over the phone. A carer or relative can book a vaccination on your behalf. Translation services are also available if you need them.
Get information about COVID-19 vaccination for disabled people, such as accessible clinics and arranging transport.
You can get your COVID-19 vaccination at:
- Your general practice – appointments for enrolled patients only; or
- Your local pharmacy.
Documents
- Clearing the Air: Assessing real-world ventilation practices in New Zealand (NIWA and Ministry of Health 2024).
- Guidance for organisers planning an event in COVID-19 times (Te Pūnaha Matatini).
- Supporting wellbeing after a crisis: Summary report (Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission 2023).
- Protecting and promoting mental wellbeing: Beyond COVID-19 (Koi Tū 2020).
Response to COVID-19
- New Zealand COVID-19 elimination strategy and mortality patterns (The Lancet 2023).
- Aotearoa New Zealand Strategic Framework for Managing COVID-19 (Ministry of Health 2023).
- Testing Plan for COVID-19 in Aotearoa New Zealand (Te Whatu Ora 2023).
- 2021 COVID-19 Māori Health Protection Plan: December 2022 Monitoring Report (Ministry of Health 2023).
- 2021 COVID-19 Māori Health Protection Plan: December 2022 Monitoring Report (Ministry of Health 2022).
- COVID-19 Māori Health Protection Plan (Ministry of Health 2021).
- COVID-19 Māori Vaccine and Immunisation Plan (Ministry of Health 2021).
- COVID-19 Psychosocial and Mental Wellbeing Plan: Revised December 2020 (Ministry of Health).
- New Zealand Aotearoa Pandemic Response Policy for Aged Residential Care (Ministry of Health 2020).
COVID-19 research
- Life since the pandemic: How the COVID-19 pandemic experience has shaped public attitudes and beliefs on public health, infectious disease and vaccination (Ministry of Health 2024)
- COVID-19 Risk Among Disabled People (Ministry of Health 2023).
- A window on quality 2022: COVID-19 and impacts on our broader health system – Part 2 (Health Quality and Safety Commission NZ 2022).
- COVID-19 Variants of Concern framework summary (Ministry of Health 2022).
- COVID-19 Mortality in Aotearoa New Zealand: Inequities in Risk (Ministry of Health 2022).
- COVID-19 Delta variant Response Rapid Review (Ministry of Health 2022).
- A window on quality 2021: COVID-19 and impacts on our broader health system – Part 1 (Health Quality and Safety Commission NZ 2021).
- Bula Sautu – A window on quality 2021: Pacific health in the year of COVID-19 (Healthy Quality and Safety Commission 2021).
- COVID-19 disruptions to hospital and general practice activity (Ministry of Health 2020).
- COVID-19 in Health Care and Support Workers in Aotearoa New Zealand (Ministry of Health 2020).
Impacts of COVID-19 in the community
- COVID-19 and safety in the home: Summary report (Te Hiringa Mahara | Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission 2023). Also available in Te Reo.
- Impact of COVID-19 on the wellbeing of rural communities in Aotearoa New Zealand: Summary report (Te Hiringa Mahara | Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission 2023). Also available in Te Reo.
- Ngā Kawekawe o Mate Korona: Impacts of COVID-19 in Aotearoa (Health Services Research Centre at Victoria University of Wellington 2023).
- Impact of COVID-19 on the wellbeing of older people in Aotearoa New Zealand: Summary report (Te Hiringa Mahara | Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission 2022). Also available in Te Reo.
- Media reporting of COVID-19 and mental health and wellbeing: Summary report (Te Hiringa Mahara | Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission 2022). Also available in Te Reo.
- Life during Lockdown: Findings from the Growing Up in New Zealand COVID-19 Wellbeing Survey – Part 1 Health and Wellbeing (Ministry of Social Development 2021).
- A fair economic future? Impacts of COVID-19 (Royal Society Te Apārangi 2021).
- Social, psychosocial and employment impacts of COVID-19 in New Zealand: Insights from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study 2020/2021 (Ministry of Social Development 2021).
- Getting it right: Children’s rights in the COVID-19 response (Children’s Convention Monitoring Group 2021).
- Racism and Xenophobia Experiences in Aotearoa New Zealand during COVID-19: A focus on Chinese and Asian communities (Human Rights Commission 2021).
- Life in lockdown: Children and young people’s views on the nationwide COVID-19 level 3 and 4 lockdown between March and May 2020 (Office of the Children’s Commissioner 2020).
- Alone Together: The risks of loneliness in Aotearoa New Zealand following COVID-19 and how public policy can help (Helen Clark Foundation 2020).
Contact the Communicable Disease staff at your local office for further information:
CANTERBURY AND CHATHAM ISLANDS
Ph: +64 3 364 1777
SOUTH CANTERBURY
Ph: +64 3 687 2600
WEST COAST
Ph: +64 3 768 1160
COVID-19 no longer classified as “quarantinable”
Ministry of Health media release: 8th August 2024
Cabinet has removed COVID-19 from the list of quarantinable infectious diseases, as specified in schedule 1 of the Health Act. This change will take effect on 1st October 2024.
Removing COVID-19’s quarantinable status will have no practical effect on how the health sector manages the disease and bring NZ into line with the approach taken by other countries. COVID-19 remains “notifiable” to ensure we can continue to monitor and respond to it effectively.
We are also retaining “novel coronavirus capable of causing severe respiratory illness” as a quarantinable disease. Retaining this status means we will be better positioned to protect New Zealanders if a new coronavirus emerges that poses a significant new risk to people’s health.
Support tools for those with Long COVID
ME Support has developed a Long COVID online support tool. It is also useful for people with other post-viral illnesses as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).
You also sign up to the Long COVID Registry Aotearoa New Zealand.
Canterbury | Waitaha and Mid Canterbury
- Find a COVID-19 community testing centre (HealthPoint).
- Find a COVID vaccine clinic near you (HealthPoint).
- Find clinics offering COVID-19 vaccines to tamariki (HealthPoint).
South Canterbury
- Find a COVID-19 community testing centre (HealthPoint).
- Find a COVID vaccine clinic near you (HealthPoint).
- Find clinics offering COVID-19 vaccine to tamariki (HealthPoint).
West Coast | Te Tai o Poutini
- Find a COVID-19 community testing centre (HealthPoint).
- Find a COVID-19 vaccination clinic (HealthPoint).
- Find clinics offering COVID-19 vaccines to tamariki (HealthPoint).
Chatham Islands
The Chatham Islands Health Centre provides the following services:
- COVID-19 Testing – to enrolled and casual patients; and
- COVID-19 vaccination for adults and children including boosters – for enrolled patients only.
Call 03 3050 035 for more information and to make your vaccination appointment.