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: Are all Public Health Units (PHUs) contributing contact tracing data to the recently established digital platform for contact tracing; if not how many PHUs are contributing the data?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK (Minister of Health): All PHUs are submitting contact tracing data to the National Close Contact Service and this information is collated to produce national monitoring indicators. All contact tracing delegated to the National Close Contact Service (NCCS) by PHUs is being done through the National Contact Tracing System (NCTS). All PHUs are required to provide information to the ministry for national monitoring which has enabled the ministry to meet the requirement in Dr Verrall's report for national end-to-end contact tracing indicators.Hon Michael Woodhouse: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The primary question was of whether the PHUs were contributing contact tracing to the digital platform and there was no reference to the digital platform in that answer.SPEAKER: I'll ask the Minister to repeat his answer. I was momentarily distracted.Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: All PHUs are submitting contract tracing data to the National Close Contact Service and this information is collated to produce national monitoring indicators. All contact tracing delegated to the National Close Contact Service by PHUs is being done through the National Contact Tracing System. All PHUs are required to provide information to the ministry for national monitoring which has enabled the ministry to meet the requirement in Dr Verrall's report for national end-to-end contact tracing indicators.SPEAKER: No. I do get Mr Woodhouse's point now having listened to that. I think the word digital" is key to it.Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: The National Contact Tracing System is the name of the digital system.Hon Michael Woodhouse: I'll go from there. From what date were all PHUs contributing contact tracing data given that information released to the Epidemic Response Committee states that data from only nine PHUs was collected as recently as 17 April?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I suspect the member misunderstands how the system is currently operating. That data is going to the National Close Contact Service and then is being collated and all of the public health units can access the data from the national contact tracing solution. Although it has to be said with so few cases being reported now in very few regions many have actually not needed to access it. The data of course speaks for itself—80 percent of close contacts are currently being followed up within two days.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Does he receive a daily summary table of contact tracing numbers and if so why has that table not been in his daily situation report since 12 April?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: What I am aware of is that all of the most recent data is being published on the ministry's website.Hon Michael Woodhouse: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That's a very nice answer about the website. My question was: does he receive a daily summary and if so why isn't it in his situation report? It's got nothing to do with the website.Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I'm happy to speak to it Mr Speaker. It is being regularly updated that data and then it is made available on the ministry's website—the most recent data.SPEAKER: I'm going to ask the Minister—there's a very specific first part. I know it's two legs and he did answer the second part but the first part is: does he get daily updates?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: It is not every day. It is regular though and that's to the member's point. We are getting regular data and then it is published on the ministry website. It is a completely transparent process.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Why was the contact tracing table deleted from his daily situation report from 12 April?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I'm not aware of that happening. If the member is aware—Hon Michael Woodhouse: Does he read his reports?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: —that it has been redacted—I've checked with my office and my office has confirmed that they have not redacted information from that report. I think the member is mistaken.Hon Michael Woodhouse: If timely tracing is so important why does his daily situation report not contain the data on the proportion of contacts successfully traced within 48 hours?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: Currently we're sitting at 80 percent of close contacts being followed up within two days. It is an extraordinary result considering the historic under-investment in the system. I am provided with the data as it's collated and it is very promptly publicly available. I see no need when it's publicly available and reported on regularly for any particular mechanism the member might specify. As a Government we have invested heavily in contact tracing and public health. We've done what no other Government has done before and that is establish a National Close Contact Service. In March we announced $40 million extra for public health and a further $55 million was invested in contact tracing in April and that data continues to speak for itself—80 percent in two days currently followed up and that is an extraordinary effort when we consider the historic neglect of that service."