COVID-19 IN THE AUCKLAND REGION

Primary care practitioners are not currently expected to provide full end-to-end care for patients with COVID-19, but may be contacted by a patient isolating in the community with COVID-19 related medical needs, or be asked for assistance by Community-supported Isolation and Quarantine (C-SIQ) or Public Health.

If one of your patients tests positive for COVID-19, you do not need to notify Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS). ARPHS receives positive results as a matter of course.

More information on how to manage COVID positive patients is available from Health Pathways.

If your patient has returned a COVID-19 positive test result but has not yet been contacted by public health then you should:

1. Advise them of their positive test result. You can check this using their NHI number.
2. Advise them they need to go home immediately and self-isolate. Anyone they live also needs to self-isolate. You can give them this factsheet for more information.
3. Tell them a public health professional will call in the next day to explain what happens next. Public health will also assess whether the case and/or their whānau need to move to an managed isolation or quarantine facility.
4. Patients can deteriorate quickly; assess how unwell they are and whether medical treatment or transfer to hospital may be needed.
5. If they are able to return home safely, tell them to contact you or Healthline if they want further advice or their symptoms get worse. The dedicated Healthline number for patients isolating at home is 0800 687 647.
6. Tell them if they need urgent medical advice or are having issues breathing they should call 111. When they call they should mention they have COVID-19 and are isolating at home.
7. Advise anyone they live with should also get a test. Facilitate the test, or connect them to a Community Testing Centre.
   

If one of your patients is self-isolating in the community and contacts you for advice or care, you can seek information about their clinical status, recommended isolation period, household contacts etc by emailing siq@whakarongorau.nz.

The dedicated Healthline number for patients isolating at home is 0800 687 647.

Each DHB now have the delegation to complete a risk assessment on each patient to determine the safest destination for their self-isolation.

• Patients that have presented and are known COVID positive can return back home on discharge.
• Patients that were referred from MIQ are to be discharged directly back to the referring MIQ. You should complete a medical/nursing handover and no repeat referral is required.
• Patients that have tested positive on presentation and are for discharge need to have a risk assessment to determine disposition. The default option is for patients to self-isolate at home, but you can also refer a patient directly into MIQ if deemed necessary following a risk assessment.

 You do not need to contact ARPHS as part of these processes. Further information on the risk assessment process is available from your DHB.

Isolating at home or in MIQ

• Isolating at home (PDF). This resource is also available in Te Reo Māori, Tongan and Samoan.
• Going to an MIQ or quarantine facility (PDF). This resource is also available in Te Reo Māori, Samoan and Tongan.

Support

• Access to food and essential items (PDF). This provides information for those isolating on how to access food or essential items. Further information is available on the Unite Against COVID-19 website.

Recovering from COVID-19

• Information for patients who have recovered from COVID-19 (PDF). This resource is also available in Te Reo Māori, Samoan and Tongan.

Find out more about what happens when you get COVID-19.

Getting tested

Anyone with symptoms is told to get a test immediately. 

Contacts of a COVID-19 case will need to follow specific guidance on getting tested. Patients can find their nearest testing location using Healthpoint.

Those who return a negative test may still need to isolate and should follow public health guidance.

Support

There is support available for those who need helping accessing food and essential items (PDF) while isolating. Further information is available on the Unite Against COVID-19 website.

• Ministry of Health resources for health professionals (Ministry of Health)
• Information on vaccination (ARPHS)
• Current testing data (Ministry of Health)
• Vaccine data, including daily updates (Ministry of Health)
• Data resources (Ministry of Health)