COVID-19 testing at Christchurch supermarket success

A Community Based Assessment Centre (CBAC) that tested supermarket shoppers for COVID-19 has been a success for the Canterbury Health System.

A Pegasus Health team was onsite at the PakNSave Moorhouse Avenue site in Christchurch from 9am to 4pm on Friday 17 April 2020. The aim was to test around 250 people.

A Ministry of Health spokeswoman said the testing “will add to the total pool of tests done, provide us with increased confidence in our data, and our overall picture of Covid-19 in New Zealand”.

A number of health system partners helped onsite including the Canterbury Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Response Team (NZRT-1) which assisted in setting up the testing station and shelter for staff and helped coordinate traffic management controls.

More than 400 people were tested by 3.10pm – an extraordinarily successful day.

Pegasus Health CEO, Vince Barry said he “was humbled by the number of people who thought getting a test was the right thing to do.”

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