The Ministry of Health has announced a suite of changes to the process for when Kiwis get infected with COVID-19 as Omicron continues to spread rapidly through New Zealand.
With daily cases climbing into the thousands and tracking the spread of coronavirus subsequently becoming more difficult under phase 2 of the Government's Omicron response, things have had to change.
The main changes to the approach under phase 2 are to isolation, the use of RATs, and increased use of digital tools.
Here's what will be different if you catch COVID-19 from today.
New process when you catch COVID-19
At phase 2, Kiwis will receive a text message when they return a positive COVID-19 test. This will always come from the number 2238.
Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield says texts will now be used because Omicron won't be too serious for most, so won't require a phone interview - though this is still available if people prefer.
The text message will include a link that takes you to a web page on self-isolation, how to tell others you have COVID-19, how to look after yourself and what help is available.
You'll be invited to fill out a website form where you will fill in your details and self-assess your illness. You'll be asked questions about your clinical and welfare needs, and whether there are any issues with self isolation.
Positive COVID-19 cases will also need to identify who their close contacts are, and let both the ministry and those people know.
Local coordination hubs will ensure those unable to fill out the web form don't fall through the cracks, and there will be clear advice about what to do to escalate the situation if additional support is needed.
Dr Bloomfield says public health units will focus their attention on high-risk exposures - such as the presence of Omicron in aged care facilities, correction centres and large events.
Tests on days 3 and 8 will be required for household contacts during phase 2, though if both are negative they can be released on day 10.
RATs and contact-tracing
Dr Bloomfield says for now, PCR testing remains the testing method of choice as RATs aren't as accurate and the number of cases in the community is still proportionally low.
However they are increasingly being used in emergency departments. At Auckland's Middlemore Hospital on Tuesday, for example, about 10 percent of people who arrived in ED returned a positive RAT result.
He says New Zealand will move to RATs for diagnosis once cases build, as they want to free up the PCR testing system for those who really need it.
Dr Bloomfield says in Auckland, where three-quarters of New Zealand's cases are, large testing queues have formed made up of lots of people who are neither close contacts nor have symptoms.
"We need to make sure that system is used for the right things," he said.
Dr Bloomfield says contact tracing is "still a thing" but the Omicron outbreak will result in so many cases they "won't be able to follow up on all of them" so they will focus on the high-risk infections.
However he says it's still important people keep scanning in as people will need to know if they've been at a high-risk exposure event.
