Demand for Covid-19 testing in Hamilton has skyrocketed, with two overwhelmed pop-up centres forced to turn people away.
The surge in people desperate to get swabbed comes after two people in the Waikato region tested positive for the virus.
Both cases are linked, one from Hamilton East and the other from Raglan, but they're yet to be connected to the Auckland cluster.
Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield encouraged people in Waikato to get tested for the virus, adding a new pop-up testing station at the Claudelands Event Centre and bolstering capacity at the Founders Theatre.
Staff at the Founders Theatre pop-up say they're at capacity with some being turned redirected elsewhere.
However, with the high demand, one man who travelled to Hamilton from Huntly was turned away from both centres due to long lines of cars.
The man told 1News he'd decided to drive to a testing centre instead of working due to feeling unwell and living with immunocompromised individuals.
However, when he arrived at the Founders Theatre carpark testing centre, he was turned away and told to go to the Claudelands testing centre.
When he went there, he was once again told him the testing centre was at capacity.
"I got there, and they said no, we've closed the testing station, go to Claudelands. We got halfway into the Claudelands area, and everyone is just being turned away and told it's closed."
Not sure where to go next, the man says he may need to resort to sleeping in his car until he can be tested to avoid putting his family at risk.
"If I go home and I've got Covid, my partner has got COPD [Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease], which is an immunocompromised situation.
"So what do I do? Just live in my car until I can get tested? I don't know."
A woman at the Claudelands testing centre said upwards of 200 cars in line wanted to be tested, with a wait time of around four hours, she told 1 News.
A worker from the Founders Theatre testing station told 1 News their testing station is "at capacity", and as a result, they are restricting the numbers of cars lining up.
When 1 News informed them that the Claudelands Event Centre testing station was also closed, they said that was what their manager had instructed them to tell people.
The road leading into the theatre's carpark has now been closed off with cones blocking access.
Waikato DHB said on their website that demand is "currently very high" at both the Claudelands and Founders testing centres but does not mention either being closed.
Instead, they're encouraging people needing to get tested to look at other options at health centres listed on their website here.
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