7. Question No. 7—COVID-19 ResponseCHRIS BISHOP (National) to the Minister for COVID-19 ResponseQuestion No. 7—COVID-19 Response7. CHRIS BISHOP (National) to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: Has the Director-General of Health exempted under clause 9 of the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Point-of-care Tests) Order 2021 any point-of-care tests from the prohibitions against them in clause 7 of the order and what is current Government policy towards rapid COVID-19 tests?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister for COVID-19 Response): Mālō e lelei Mr Speaker. I'm advised that to date a total of 34 letters of authorisation by the Director-General of Health have been issued under clause 9 of the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Point-of-care Tests) Order 2021 covering the import and supply of or use of rapid COVID-19 tests. Thirty-three of the authorisation letters related to rapid molecular tests that were already in use in laboratories in the national COVID-19 testing laboratory network prior to the order being issued or to their use in laboratories that have operationalised our PCR tests since the order was issued. In relation to the second part of the member's question the Ministry of Health is investigating options for the utilisation of rapid antigen tests in certain settings such as for the healthcare workforce and as part of the point of arrivals trial within the reconnecting New Zealand work programme. One letter of authorisation has been issued to allow the Ministry of Health to import a quantity of rapid antigen tests so that the potential use of those tests under the public health response can be evaluated and/or piloted.Chris Bishop: Just in relation to the last part of the answer in relation to the one letter of authorisation to allow the ministry to import I think you said rapid antigen tests for trials—when was that letter issued and when will those tests be imported into New Zealand?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I don't have an exact date. It would have been within the last few months though.Chris Bishop: Will the Government allow rapid antigen tests to be used for essential workers crossing the Auckland boundary who are now required to be tested weekly and if not why not?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: That's not part of our current expectation. We are looking to ensure that a variety of different testing methodologies are available including saliva testing and nasopharyngeal and oral throat swabs as are currently used. We want to have a high degree of efficacy for those tests. We're not proposing at this point rapid antigen tests.Chris Bishop: When the Ministry of Health says that Increased surveillance testing in healthcare border quarantine and essential workers is a key focus to help stamp out Auckland's delta … outbreak." why are no rapid COVID-19 tests being used when they could deliver a lot of surveillance tests very quickly?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: In the case of New Zealand where we're aiming to identify every single case of COVID-19 that might exist within the community we need to have a test that is as accurate as possible and a PCR test be it saliva or through a throat or a nasal swab is regarded internationally as the gold standard for reliability of testing methodologies. Other countries that are using things like rapid antigen tests are doing so in the context usually of widespread community transmission where missing a few cases here and there has a lower consequence than it does in New Zealand.Chris Bishop: Has he seen the comments of Dr Shaun Hendy in relation to rapid antigen tests "If we had them widely available now I think they would be a very useful tool in combating delta." and will the Government be listening to its own expert modeller?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Of course there are a range of experts the Government listens to and unfortunately they don't always agree with one another. So yes Professor Hendy's advice is a stream of advice that we do take into consideration and we'll continue to do so. We do have a team at the moment a dedicated technical team working on different testing methodologies. They are producing advice for the Government on emerging testing technologies and other existing technologies that are out there that we're not currently using. Of course we're awaiting some of that advice and we are eagerly anticipating some of it."