COVID-19 positive patients with mild symptoms

What does self-management at home mean?

• Self-management means caring for yourself or your whanau at home, rather than needing any support or medication from your doctor
• If you need healthcare due to your symptoms, it will always be available for you. However most people will experience mild symptoms which can be treated with the usual treatments you might use for colds or seasonal flu

How should I treat symptoms at home?

• Using paracetamol can help with aches, pains and fever
• Honey or lozenges can help with a sore throat
• Decongestants can help with a blocked nose
• Make sure you keep hydrated by sipping water throughout the day. 
• If you or your child has gastro symptoms, some other drinks can help, as long as you’re not dehydrated – apple juice (mix 1 part juice to 1 part water), cordial (make up to normal drinking strength then add 1 part water to 1 part of made up cordial), soup (add 1 part water to 1 part soup), fizzy drinks such as lemonade (add 1 part warm water to 1 part drink to remove the bubbles)
• Rest is important, sleep when you are tired

What should I do if my symptoms get worse?

• If you have difficulty breathing, at any stage of your illness, call 111 immediately. Tell them you have COVID-19 when you ring and they can provide you with the necessary support or health care
• If you are isolating at home and feel you are getting more unwell, call the COVID Healthline on 0800 358 5453 or give us a ring at the practice and one of our clinical team can talk to you about your symptoms over the phone

I am on other medication, should I continue to take it while I’ve got COVID-19?

• Yes, you should continue to take your medication as prescribed by your GP – don’t stop or reduce your dose unless your GP or nurse practitioner advises you to
• Do you have enough medication to last you the next few weeks? If you are running low we can help arrange a repeat prescription now to last you while you self-isolate
• It might be useful to set a reminder on your phone to take your medication on time if staying at home is a change to your usual routine
• Do you have an existing Sick Day plan? If so, please refer to this in the first instance, and if you’re in any doubt about what you should do then give the practice a call or contact your GP/NP through your Patient Portal

How can I prepare my whanau for self-isolating and caring for ourselves at home?

• There are some great resources on the Health Navigator website which can help with this. Type in www.healthnavigator.org.nz to visit the site
• Health Navigator contains health information and advice written by New Zealand health professionals such as GPs and Nurse Practitioners
• The website is free to use, which means you don’t need any credit or mobile data on your phone to be able to look through the information, download resources or watch their videos
• On the homepage there are links to lots of different pages relating to caring for yourself at home if you have COVID-19

I’ve been given a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) but I don’t know how to use it  

• You will also need to record your result on your My COVID Record account. You can do this online by logging in to your My COVID Record account, or by calling 0800 222 478
• Here is an email you a link to a video showing you how to record your RAT test result?  (link to share – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGifSro0rf4&t=3s )

How long will I need to self-isolate if I have COVID-19?

• You, and everyone else who lives in your house will need to isolate for 7 days from when your symptoms started, or from when you got tested and had a positive result (if you did not have any symptoms)
• Your household members will need to remain in isolation with you until your 7 days is complete and they need to test on Day 3 and Day 7

What if someone else in my household gets COVID from me while we’re all self-isolating – will the 7 days self-isolation period just keep extending?

• No, everyone in your household who gets COVID-19 will have their own 7 day isolation period
• If no one else in your household tests positive for COVID-19 on either day 3 or day 7 of your self-isolation period then everyone is able to leave self-isolation on Day 10
• If someone else in your household tests positive for COVID-19 during your self-isolation period then they will begin their own 7 day self-isolation period. Everyone else in the household that tests negative will be able to leave self-isolation when your 7 days is complete
• If you have already had COVID-19 your body’s natural immunity to the virus is very high, so you are unlikely to catch it again from another household member

What am I allowed to do while self-isolating?

• Unlike when we were in lockdown, you won’t be able to leave the house for anything other than receiving emergency health treatment
• Staying at home means there is less chance of you passing the virus on to anyone else
• This means you’ll need to arrange for food deliveries, and exercise just in your garden.
• I know it sounds difficult, but there are lots of resources available to help you plan for your time in isolation. I can email you through a link to Health Navigator which has some great videos and guides explaining what you can and can’t do, and how to make the time as easy for yourself and your whanau as possible. (Link to share) https://www.healthnavigator.org.nz/health-a-z/c/covid-19-positive-how-to-quarantine-at-home/ 

We would like to wish everyone a safe and happy Christmas and New Year holiday season. After the disruption and uncertainty of the COVID-19 Delta outbreak a period of relaxation and catching up with friends and family is important.

It is also important to make sure that risk of spreading COVID is a low as possible. It remains crucial that you have a test if you have any symptoms and avoid going out if sick.

The surgery is closed for the stat holidays, 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th December and 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th January but open as usual on all other days.

Testing is available in Whakatane at 266 The Strand (Old Wally Sutherland Building) as follows;

25 December 12pm -4pm

26 December – 2 Jan 10am-4pm

3 Jan-28 Feb 9am-7pm

If not yet vaccinated make sure to book in as soon as possible and a reminder that you will be eligible for your booster if your 2nd vaccine dose was 4 months ago. This is important to maximise your protection for when omicron slips across the border. Visit bookmyvaccine.nz to book your appointment

The DHB has advised that they are sending a team to Kawerau to do some pop-up/walk-in vaccination clinics next Wednesday 22^nd and Saturday 25^th September. These clinics are in addition to the regular vaccination clinics at Firmin Lodge. As always you can book a vaccine by phoning 0800 829 001 or going online to www.bookmyvacine.co.nz

These clinics will be located at the Kawerau Town Hall, and vaccinations are available to everyone 12+ from 10am until 3pm.  No bookings needed.

It is crucial that we all play our part to minimise the risk of COVID-19 to our community, especially those who may be more vulnerable than we personally may be. Getting vaccinated is the one way you can do this at an individual level.

If you feel you need to educate yourself more please choose your resources wisely and use reputable, science and evidence based resources such Karawhiua rather than a random opinion on social media.

This week’s confirmation that the Delta variant of COVID-19 was spreading in the community was disappointing but not unexpected. The rapid lockdown was the only safe response and the Tarawera Medical Centre team of staff and patients adjusted rapidly back to level 4 precautions. Today’s update that level 4 will last through until at least next Wednesday for all of New Zealand was predictable. We will be operating under tighter restrictions to those we have been accustomed to for some time.

This means the surgery door is again closed and all possible consultations need to be conducted remotely. This has proceeded remarkably smoothly without the steep learning curve of the 2020 lockdown.

As before we are available to help with any issues but need to do it in a safe way. All initial contact will be by phone so if you would like to discuss a health issue please phone. You will be put on the list for telephone triage by a nurse who will then arrange a doctor call or book a time for assessment if needed. The Delta variant means that most consultations that were previously in our cabin will now be done with patients still in their car where possible. It is crucial that anyone with symptoms gets tested and the testing station at the Ron Hardie Recreation Centre has been a great help with this. This testing station will be open on Saturday 21 August 10am to 4pm. As always COVID-19 testing is free.

Make sure to have your NZ COVID Tracer app up to date so you can use it to scan in when attending essential services including the Tarawera Medical Centre. It is far more efficient than having to fill in paper based registers. The app makes contact tracing much more rapid and with the shorter incubation of the Delta variant this can be essential to limiting chains of transmission.

Repeat prescriptions are now easier to achieve with electronic prescribing. If you let us know which Pharmacy you use we can send the script directly to them without having to print a copy for most medicines. There is no need to panic and order medicines well before they are due, a week or so before you run out is adequate.

Ongoing vaccination is crucial to managing COVID-19. As such the vaccination programme continues even in lockdown with access open now to anyone over 40 and children 12-15 years old of eligible adults who can attend for vaccination with their parents. From next Wednesday 25 August bookings will open for anyone over 30 and on Wednesday 1 September for everyone over 12. Booking in by phoning 0800 829 001 for your vaccine is one thing you can personally do to help manage this pandemic.

As with the last lockdown, PathLab has reduced their cover to Tuesdays and Thursday as fewer patients are being referred for tests during lockdown.