All new admissions to rest homes will be tested for Covid-19 before being accepted into the home, the New Zealand Aged Care Association say.
Rest homes have currently been accepting new admissions, albeit placing them in isolation for at least 14 days.
However, in a release today, the New Zealand Aged Care Association outlined that any new admissions to rest homes will require coronavirus testing, their acceptance dependent on their test results.
Those who test positive will not be admitted, while anyone who returns a negative result will be allowed in, albeit needing a 14-day isolation period.
"Our decision is in line with the call from the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the Director General of Health, Ashley Bloomfield, for more testing of vulnerable populations, which includes older New Zealanders," NZ Aged Care Association chief executive Simon Wallace says.
"Covid-19 is known to afflict older people more than any other cohort. We have seen several cases with our residents already, along with some staff. And given the ongoing increase in cases across New Zealand, we will likely see further cases amongst our people.
"Our members' top priority is to protect the health and wellbeing of their staff and residents and testing new residents prior to admission is an important part of the wider protocols they have in place."
As of today New Zealand, has a total of 950 positive and probable cases of Covid-19, recording one death.
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