6. Question No. 6—HealthHon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National) to the Minister of HealthQuestion No. 6—Health6. Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National) to the Minister of Health: Is he responsible for COVID-19 testing; if so how many of the 2159 people who left managed isolation between 9 and 16 June were tested prior to leaving and returning to the community?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK (Minister of Health): As I said when answering a similarly worded question last week ultimately I have ministerial responsibility for the entire public health system which includes oversight of the testing regime. In response to the global pandemic New Zealand has arguably the strictest border measures in the world. More than 20000 people have completed 14 days of managed isolation and quarantine and there is no evidence that any have gone on to transmit COVID-19 into the community. As has been publicly reported on the Ministry of Health's website of those who left managed isolation between 9 and 16 June 800 had completed a test before leaving the facility a further 484 have now been tested since they left managed isolation and all have returned negative tests.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Is it correct that health staff had to phone those who had left managed isolation to determine whether they'd had a test before leaving because the records could not determine who had and had not been tested?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: The testing regime was not working as had been intended. That was made very clear at the time—Hon Dr Nick Smith: Answer the question.Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: —and those who have been—SPEAKER: Order! The member will resume his seat. The member will withdraw and apologise.Hon Dr Nick Smith: I withdraw and apologise.SPEAKER: Thank you. Continue.Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: And that is why those phone calls needed to be made.Hon Michael Woodhouse: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The question referred to the phone calls having been made but the answer did not address the question of whether that was because records could not establish who had been tested.SPEAKER: I think the question had been addressed and I think it had actually been answered.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Did Ashley Bloomfield say yesterday There are still 367 with whom we are having trouble making contact—not for want of trying—with text where possible email and repeated phone calls." because those records had not been kept?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: Obviously phoning up those people is the quickest way to ascertain all of that detail and yes Dr Bloomfield I believe did say those statements although I don't have them in front of me.Hon Dr Megan Woods: Has he seen any reports as to whether or not a non-returning homeless person who wandered in off the street has received a test?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: No I have not been made aware of any homeless people receiving a test at a managed isolation or quarantine facility. Claims about breaches of protocol at these facilities would be very serious indeed and anyone making such claims should be taken at their word. I would encourage anyone with information about breaches of protocol to front up with that information.Hon Michael Woodhouse: How many of those 2159 people have not been found by the Ministry of Health and can he confirm that the Ministry of Health will use the finding services referred to by Ashley Bloomfield to locate those who aren't picking up the phone?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I can confirm that a number of them have already been handed over to finding services.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Could I ask the Minister as to whether or not this mystery homeless person not 2159 but 2160—whether his name has been established and was it Pinocchio? SPEAKER: Order! The member knows that's ironic.Hon Michael Woodhouse: In respect of his previous answer would they be the same finding services that according to written question 5744 failed to find more than half of the 1800 people they were referred between 6 April and 20 May?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I'm not sure where the member has got those statistics from but what I would say is that the most important thing here is that managed isolation is the most secure way we know of in the world. There's no global playbook for this virus. It's spreading faster than ever. And what we see in New Zealand is that that is working. We're one of only two countries as far as we know in the world that has managed isolation and quarantine facilities that are Government mandated and we've got no evidence that any of the over 20000 people that have been through have gone on to community transmit.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Would he not agree that the finding service would not be required had he been better at testing them while they were actually in managed isolation?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I tend to leave the testing to the clinical experts.Hon Dr Megan Woods: Would he not agree that the finding service has better things to do than look for mythical homeless people?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: Hear hear."