At least 12 staff members at Middlemore Hospital have been stood down from work, after a patient returned a weak positive result for COVID-19.
The patient was seen at the hospital on Thursday night for respiratory symptoms and a COVID-19 test returned a weak positive for one of two target genes, a spokesperson for the Northern Region Health Coordination Centre (NRHCC) told Newshub.
Newshub understands at least 12 staff, including doctors, nurses and administration staff, were stood down and told to isolate as a precaution.
However, two more tests carried out today both came back negative.
The spokesperson described the patient as returning a "false-positive" result.
The staff who were stood down from work have now been told they can resume normal duties.
The NRHCC spokesperson said nasal swabbing for COVID-19 does have a low rate of false positives but "they do occur and we take a precautionary approach when any cases under investigation are in our care."
