Coronavirus: Rest home owners call for mandatory tests of new residents

Four of our coronavirus clusters are in rest homes - and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield wants to understand why.

Rest home owners do too, but they also want mandatory testing for new residents.

Rest homes are home to our elderly - and home to four clusters of COVID-19. Now they're the focus of a Government review.

"In some of those instances, those cases have been able to be bounded very, very quickly with no further transmission. In others, we've seen just how tricky this virus is and that it can spread quite rapidly," says Dr Bloomfield.

There will be extra funding to help cover the cost of personal protective equipment (PPE) and extra staffing. But the Aged Care Association also wants mandatory testing for any new residents.

"Six deaths is six too many, this is why we've been calling on testing," says CEO Simon Wallace. "This is why we need a whole range of measures to be able to fight the virus."

Mandi Lawrence's father lives at Rosewood. She says it's no time to be pointing fingers.

"There's no point doing a blame game. Rosewood, I know first-hand, put in such a huge effort to keep this out. Sadly it found its way in," she told Newshub.

Six aged care facilities across the country have COVID-19 cases. Ellerslie Gardens Lifecare has two and suspects there will be more.

The resident who tested positive there last week is recovering well but his daughter told Newshub it's a wake-up call for all facilities.

He was given antibiotics for a rattly chest just days after a carer was confirmed positive, but he wasn't tested for coronavirus for two weeks.

Dr Bloomfield says testing is now more widespread.

"There is a low threshold for testing of any residents who might be symptomatic and of any new arrivals if they have any symptoms whatsoever," he says.

And it's not all bad.

"In perspective, we have 650 rest homes across the country - we're looking after 35,000 residents," Wallace says. "We're not doing too bad a job compared to what's happening in other countries."

Not doing bad, but there's certainly no room for complacency.