5. Question No. 5—HealthHon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National) to the Minister of HealthQuestion No. 5—Health5. Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National) to the Minister of Health: Does his responsibility as Minister of Health include oversight of the regime for testing individuals in New Zealand for the COVID-19 virus?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK (Minister of Health): Ultimately I have ministerial responsibility for the entire public health system and that includes oversight of the testing regime which completed nearly 20000 tests in the last two days and which has seen New Zealand complete 368432 COVID-19 tests meaning we have the highest testing rate per confirmed case in the world.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Does he believe that now is the right time to tighten COVID testing as described in the COVID-19 criteria and case definitions guidelines released on 23 June 2020?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: The case definition explicitly references the new testing strategy which I announced on Tuesday and the case definition states: The Testing Strategy outlines additional testing being undertaken to support early detection of COVID-19 at the border and surveillance testing of people with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 who present to primary and secondary care to ensure that there is no community transmission." The case definition is entirely consistent with the testing strategy. Let me assure the public: if you have flu- or COVID-like symptoms we will continue to test you.Hon Michael Woodhouse: So if the criteria for testing has not been tightened why did the Ministry of Health release updated criteria in case definitions?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: Ultimately changing the nuances in the case definition is a clinical decision and not a matter for politicians. What I would point out is that we are testing record numbers of people—more than 10000 people yesterday alone; that is a record—and we continue to find no evidence of community transmission. If the public have flu- or COVID-like symptoms we will continue to test them.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Is the reason he boasts that New Zealand has the highest rate of—SPEAKER: Order! The member will start his question again.Hon Michael Woodhouse: If the member asserts that New Zealand has the highest rate of testing relevant to positive cases as he mentioned in this House earlier in the week isn't that because we actually rank No. 35 in the world for actual testing per capita?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I think the logic of the member's question is questionable but we have such a low case rate—I think that's the point he's making—and we rank ahead of countries like Taiwan and South Korea in terms of our performance according to data that is readily available on the internet.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Could I ask the Minister as to whether it's a fact that since 28 April which was the last case reported 240000 tests have been done in this country and not one has been a case of community transmission?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I don't have that exact data in front of me but I think the member's absolutely right.Jami-Lee Ross: Is he aware of the high volume of testing at the Botany Road testing site that is resulting in long wait times for patients and traffic gridlock in surrounding streets; if so what actions are being taken to better manage testing at this site?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I have been advised by northern region DHBs that high demand for COVID-19 testing is leading to unprecedented queues at many of the community-based assessment centres—or CBACs—in metropolitan Auckland. The DHBs say they're very aware of the impact on communities where these are situated and they are working closely with community police and Auckland Transport to address these impacts.Jami-Lee Ross: Will he ensure the testing location for east Auckland is moved to a site with better access so testing wait times can be reduced and traffic can be more appropriately managed?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I'm advised the three Auckland DHBs are urgently reviewing their testing capacity across the city and the number and location of CBACs to develop solutions to the issues arising from current high demand. The DHB chief executives are monitoring the situation closely and are receiving updates and advice several times per day.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Does he take responsibility for the fact that more than 1000 returning Kiwis may have been released into New Zealand communities without having had a COVID test? Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: Ultimately I have ministerial responsibility for the entire public health system. I would note that we are one of very few countries that have introduced managed isolation and that managed isolation has served us incredibly well. More than 20000 people have been through these facilities and there is no evidence that anyone exiting managed isolation has gone on to spread COVID-19 into the community."