Doctors say they've been overwhelmed with people wanting tests following news of four COVID-19 cases in the community, which is forcing them to bring in extra staff.
However they still have concerns about adequate supplies of test swabs and PPE.
Whanau Ora community clinic director Dr Vanshdeep Tangri says there was unprecedented demand at Auckland's Eden Terrace testing centre, which forced him to ask for more staff.
"There's obviously a very large number of people coming in. I'm not too sure of the exact number but several hundred."
Private clinics have also reported record numbers, with NZ Medical Association chairperson Dr Kate Baddock saying they're "totally being overwhelmed".
"We pulled in two extra staff and all they've been doing all morning is swabbing people for COVID."
Dr Baddock said earlier on Wednesday GPs had been limited to just 20 swabs per order. Although Dr Ashley Bloomfield said this was no longer the case when asked about it later in the day.
However, Dr Baddock said concerns remained about distribution, and doctors want a guaranteed daily supply of swabs and PPE.
"[There are] concerns that there will be shortages if they don't swing into gear within the next 24 to 48 hours."
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Hundreds of people queued for central Auckland's Eden Terrace testing centre, and people Newshub spoke to said they'd been waiting in line for hours.
"I've been here since 8am, so three hours... It's shocking. They keep saying they were prepared for this, but obviously they were not," one says.
"I arrived here at 8am and now it's 11:25am," another says.
"It's not ideal. But I hope they'll get better as the days go by," a third says.
Newshub also spoke to a man at the Northcote testing site on Wednesday who said he waited for seven hours for a test, but was turned away when the clinic closed its gates.
Adding to the heightened demand at testing centres, all 7000 border and isolation hotel staff will also undergo urgent tests, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says.
Last week, Newshub revealed bus drivers taking returnees to isolation hotels were not being regularly tested. The Health Ministry later changed its policy.
Workers in managed isolation were being tested every two to three weeks according to the Ministry.
Ardern says all workers will get a test in the next few days.
"What we are doing now is a fresh run of everyone. Because you've got a cycle of testing, we want to make sure we've got a fresh run of testing, immediately."
The surge of people taking a test continued into Wednesday night, with hundreds of people still in line at the Eden Terrace centre. Staff are urging them to be patient as they work through the night to get through the backlog.
To help with the long waiting times, the Government says more testing sites will open in Auckland over the coming days.
