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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says border workers will begin receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine from February 20. (Video first published February 12, 2021)
Christchurch International Airport is not doing daily Covid-19 saliva tests for its border staff – unlike Auckland Airport, which is privately funding a saliva testing pilot. Airport boss Malcolm Johns said it was not a financial issue, but it was unnecessary as almost all international travellers were arriving via Auckland. The bigger risk in Christchurch was at managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) facilities. The Government is slowly rolling out saliva testing for staff working in MIQ facilities, in addition to mandatory PCR nasal testing every seven to 14 days for all border workers.
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Saliva will be collected in a test tube for quick, non-invasive testing. “Since the outbreak of Covid-19, we’ve been working hard to protect our people and our community from the virus,” Tuck said. “In real terms, that means thousands of nasal swabs have been taken from our employees.” The non-invasive test will allow for more quick-turnaround testing, which it is hoped will allow for more regular monitoring, catching asymptomatic cases before they spread. The test does not need to be carried out by healthcare professionals. Currently, Rako has the capacity to administer 10,000 tests a day. “It will mean we can have more frequent surveillance testing – and that means a better chance of catching positive cases early before they reach the infectious stage, reducing the risk of community transmission,” Tuck said.
Tuesday, 22 December, 2020 - 18:40
International Accreditation New Zealand will renew the Council’s Building Consent Authority after staff successfully processed more than 99 per cent of consent applications in 20 days or less since 1 August.
The team is currently taking 13 days, on average, to process consent applications and has processed 100 per cent of applications within the 20-day statutory timeframe since September. Compliance since 1 July is 99.55 per cent over all.
The October assessment is a big improvement on last year when the agency, which is appointed by the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment to audit Building Consent Authorities, identified a number of critical non-compliance issues.