8. Question No. 8—Minister of Research Science and InnovationDr SHANE RETI (National—Whangarei) to the Minister of Research Science and InnovationQuestion No. 8—Minister of Research Science and Innovation8. Dr SHANE RETI (National—Whangarei) to the Minister of Research Science and Innovation: What are the latest waste-water testing results for coronavirus in Auckland?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Research Science and Innovation): Waste-water testing is taking place as part of a research project led by Environmental Science and Research (ESR) with funding from the COVID innovation fund that I established in early April. Positive results for viral RNA have been received from four of the five collection points in Auckland. The latest results are the Jet Park Hotel with strong positive results on 18 August which is to be expected given it is our quarantine facility; the Southern Interceptor where waste water from the Jet Park Hotel mixes with waste water from 100000 households a positive result on 18 August; the Central Interceptor a weak positive result on 17 August; the Rosedale Interceptor a weak positive result on 13 August. There have been no positive results from the Western Interceptor collection point. These results correspond with what we know about the location of cases across Auckland. These results tell us that there is COVID-19 in these areas but do not give us precise information about the number of people infected or the stage of infection. One-off testing was also carried out in Christchurch and Queenstown in early August returning negative results. This is another useful tool that can help us in the fight against COVID-19 and I look forward to providing further updates as the research project progresses.Dr Shane Reti: When was the first positive test in sewage outflow testing in Auckland?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: The Jet Park Hotel started weekly testing on 12 July. As you would expect given this is the facility where we house people who are COVID-positive that would have started in early July. One of the reasons why ESR with the research money they have is concentrating the efforts around testing of the Jet Park Hotel and the interceptor associated with the Jet Park Hotel is because we have such low levels of COVID in New Zealand getting the sensitivity of the test is proving a challenge. So the first test would have been in early July.Dr Shane Reti: How does she reconcile that answer with written questions received last week saying that weekly testing at Jet Park had been negative?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: My understanding is that there has been a correction to the written question from the Minister of Health that was put through today that the question did say that it had been daily since the beginning of July at Jet Park returning negative results—that has been corrected to say usually return positive results as expected". This was put down to an administrative error. Dr Shane Reti: How many managed isolation facilities are linked to the Southern Interceptor and has upstream testing occurred with the Southern Interceptor?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: As I went through in my primary answer as well as the Southern Interceptor we're also doing the Central Interceptor the Rosedale Interceptor and the Western Interceptor points as well. In terms of the number of facilities that connect to the Southern Interceptor I'd ask the member to put that in writing to me but it will be several—but I'd like to get the precise details in a written question.Dr Shane Reti: Has upstream testing occurred with all the sites that she's identified here today so that we can further localise where the positive tests may come from?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: I went through the number of interceptors across Auckland that we are looking at—the Southern the Central the Rosedale and the Western Interceptor. So we are doing a broad sweep across Auckland to be able to identify where cases are. In terms of whether they technically qualify as upstream I'll need to look at that but we are looking broadly across Auckland. The patterns where we have seen it emerge fit with where we are seeing positive tests come from and the fact that we are seeing negative results from the Western Interceptor also fits firmly with the pattern of positive cases we are seeing.Dr Shane Reti: Was there an increasing trend in positive coronavirus tests in waste water leading up to the start of the current outbreak?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Not that I am aware of. As I said one of the most important things from why we instituted it at the Jet Park Hotel is actually around method development because this is a place that is quite unique in New Zealand in that we know there is coronavirus there; obviously we didn't have the ability to do any sensitivity testing in other parts of New Zealand while we were coronavirus free. So it was really important that we were using our quarantine facility waste water to do this. The fact that there have been reasonably consistent results from the Jet Park Hotel is because we consistently move COVID-positive patients there.Dr Shane Reti: Apart from the Jet Park was there an increasing trend in coronavirus in waste water in Auckland leading up to the current outbreak?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Not that I'm aware of no."