COVID-19

Testing for COVID-19

Information on lab testing and capacity and testing rates by ethnicity and DHB.

Last updated 1pm 22 February 2021.

All data on this page is as at 9:00 am on 22 February 2021 unless otherwise stated.

Data on this page is now updated daily.

Data is collected from the EpiSurv database (administered by ESR) unless otherwise stated. 

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Testing summary, status, and results

COVID-19 viral testing
People tested Test results delivered in past 24 hours Test results delivered during past week
People who travelled internationally 778 7247
People working at the border, in managed facilities, or near people travelling internationally 474 6942
Within New Zealand, not linked to the border 2586 57681
Other 44 498
Total 3882 72368
COVID-19 testing status
  Total
All COVID-19 viral tests administered* 1,662,321
Testing kits in stock (updated weekdays only) 191,075

* Covers the period from 22 January 2020 (first test in New Zealand) to 22 February 2021. Note that some people are tested more than once.

Testing results from 22 January 2020* to 22 February 2021
Test results In managed facilities Within NZ communities Total
Tested positive for COVID-19 802 1936 2738
Tested negative (no COVID-19) 194233 1465099 1659332
Inconclusive result for COVID-19 4 247 251
Total (all tests) 195039 1467282 1662321

* First test for COVID-19 in New Zealand was on 22 January 2020. Note that some people are tested more than once.

Number of tests for COVID-19
Daily number of tests completed for COVID-19 (with seven-day rolling average)

Testing over the past 4 weeks

Tests at managed facilities and within the community in district health boards (DHBs)
DHB of Patient Domicile 25 Jan to 31 Jan 1 Feb to 7 Feb 8 Feb to 14 Feb 15 Feb to 21 Feb
Managed isolation and quarantine facilities 7630 7249 7328 7247
Auckland 5278 3151 3046 7948
Bay of Plenty 1090 781 764 1855
Canterbury 2475 2102 1958 4142
Capital and Coast 1175 983 893 2583
Counties Manukau 5041 3371 3651 22241
Hawkes Bay 360 370 320 1034
Hutt Valley 390 312 255 921
Lakes 464 318 336 939
MidCentral 592 528 393 1163
Nelson Marlborough 459 452 367 843
Northland 4429 431 419 1146
South Canterbury 140 114 132 319
Southern 1108 784 878 2071
Tairāwhiti 144 119 132 356
Taranaki 418 281 221 1740
Waikato 1589 1027 1122 4115
Wairarapa 101 77 90 208
Waitematā 10397 3461 3158 8313
West Coast 60 36 29 65
Whanganui 116 109 73 431
Unknown 1923 1553 1488 2688
Total 45379 27609 27053 72368

Note: some people are tested more than once. We cannot give you detailed information about tests in your district, city or town, as we must protect the privacy of the people concerned.

Tests by ethnicity
Ethnicity 25 Jan to 31 Jan 1 Feb to 7 Feb 8 Feb to 14 Feb 15 Feb to 21 Feb
Maori 5692 2708 2845 10830
Pacific peoples 3806 2762 2877 11558
Asian 7340 4629 4411 12904
European/Other 24033 13361 12661 31418
Unknown 4508 4149 4259 5658
Total 45379 27609 27053 72368
Tests in managed isolation and quarantine
Test result 25 Jan to 31 Jan 1 Feb to 7 Feb 8 Feb to 14 Feb 15 Feb to 21 Feb
Tested positive for COVID-19 35 35 24 21
Tested negative (no COVID-19) 7595 7214 7304 7226
Inconclusive result for COVID-19 0 0 0 0
Tests within NZ communities
Test result 25 Jan to 31 Jan 1 Feb to 7 Feb 8 Feb to 14 Feb 15 Feb to 21 Feb
Tested positive for COVID-19 10 9 9 11
Tested negative (no COVID-19) 37735 20348 19716 65110
Inconclusive result for COVID-19 4 3 0 0
Total tests
Test result 25 Jan to 31 Jan 1 Feb to 7 Feb 8 Feb to 14 Feb 15 Feb to 21 Feb
Tested positive for COVID-19 45 44 33 32
Tested negative (no COVID-19) 45330 27562 27020 72336
Inconclusive result for COVID-19 4 3 0 0

Testing rate and results by location and ethnicity

All tests by DHB and in managed isolation and quarantine facilities from 22 January 2020 to 22 February 2021
Location Total tests Tested positive (%) Test rate per 1000 people
Managed isolation and quarantine facilities 195039 0.41% NA
Auckland 207965 0.15% 371.04
Bay of Plenty 57611 0.09% 235.57
Canterbury 125175 0.12% 214.85
Capital and Coast 82889 0.16% 254.8
Counties Manukau 266982 0.09% 460.44
Hawkes Bay 33538 0.14% 199.76
Hutt Valley 30462 0.08% 200.63
Lakes 30605 0.04% 274.08
MidCentral 37454 0.1% 205.11
Nelson Marlborough 30003 0.11% 196.11
Northland 41287 0.08% 224.44
South Canterbury 10508 0.21% 174.68
Southern 69107 0.39% 204.99
Tairāwhiti 11846 0.04% 239.66
Taranaki 24544 0.05% 201.68
Waikato 103232 0.19% 240.59
Wairarapa 8692 0.05% 188.45
Waitematā 232010 0.13% 359.74
West Coast 3121 0.16% 97.71
Whanganui 11843 0.03% 182.04
Unknown 48408 0.1% NA
Total 1662321 0.16% 282.12
Tests by ethnicity from 22 January 2020 to 22 February 2021
Ethnicity* Total test Tested positive (%) Test rate per 1000 people
Māori 235756 0.09% 297.92
Pacific peoples 192873 0.11% 592.74
Asian 235816 0.17% 293.94
European/Other 887100 0.19% 285.21
Unknown 110776 0.22% NA
Total 1662321 0.16% 308.5

* The prioritised ethnicity classification system is used in this table and below. This means each person is allocated to a single ethnic group, based on the ethnic groups they identify with. Where people identify with more than one group, they are assigned in this order of priority: Māori, Pacific Peoples, Asian, and European/Other. So, if a person identifies as being Māori and New Zealand European, the person is counted as Māori. See Ngā tapuae me ngā raraunga: Methods and data sources for further information.

The data categorized by ethnicity come from National Health Index (NHI) data collection, linked to data held in the EpiSurv database.

Testing rates per 1000 people by location and ethnicity from 22 January 2020 to 22 February 2021
Location Māori Pacific peoples Asian European/Other
Auckland 405.73 550.88 259.74 405.53
Bay of Plenty 256.78 447.74 162.61 230.27
Canterbury 210.18 281.54 197.28 213.85
Capital and Coast 253.82 302.09 171.29 266.86
Counties Manukau 458.16 765.68 352.14 360.26
Hawke's Bay 203.14 397.56 130.89 191.49
Hutt Valley 196.64 251.59 165.65 201.54
Lakes 295.73 422.49 228.78 258
MidCentral 198.29 262.23 130.69 211.69
Nelson Marlborough 206.14 423.31 141.78 192.31
Northland 251.08 246.56 165.88 212.11
South Canterbury 174.99 495.85 171.06 171.07
Southern 188.5 301.13 153.28 208.64
Tairāwhiti 258.69 313.18 239.54 213.03
Taranaki 201.08 287.87 195.44 199.3
Waikato 269.21 331.38 202.16 226.95
Wairarapa 198.39 319.94 203.52 181
Waitematā 375.73 538.85 287.77 361.78
West Coast 90.96 196.52 133.44 95.97
Whanganui 179.84 241.06 133.64 183.33
Total 280.41 555.64 252.17 259.23

Note: some people are tested more than once. We cannot give you detailed information about tests in your district, city or town, as we must protect the privacy of the people concerned.

Percentage of tests returning a positive result by DHB and ethnicity from 22 January to 22 February 2021
Location Māori Pacific peoples Asian European/Other
Auckland 0.07 0.19 0.13 0.15
Bay of Plenty 0.04 0 0.15 0.1
Canterbury 0.05 0.2 0.1 0.12
Capital and Coast 0.04 0 0.11 0.2
Counties Manukau 0.02 0.07 0.1 0.12
Hawke's Bay 0.03 0.15 0.24 0.17
Hutt Valley 0.12 0 0 0.09
Lakes 0.03 0 0.04 0.05
MidCentral 0.05 0 0 0.12
Nelson Marlborough 0.15 0 0 0.12
Northland 0.06 0.1 0 0.1
South Canterbury 0.1 0 0.69 0.2
Southern 0.4 0.14 0.14 0.42
Tairāwhiti 0.02 0 0 0.09
Taranaki 0 0 0.08 0.06
Waikato 0.09 0.04 0.25 0.24
Wairarapa 0.06 0 0 0.05
Waitematā 0.21 0.22 0.09 0.12
West Coast 0 0 0 0.19
Whanganui 0 0 0.47 0.03
Total 0.09 0.11 0.17 0.19

Note: we cannot give the total number of people testing positive per DHB and ethnicity for privacy reasons.

Testing rate and results by age and sex

Tests by age group from 22 January to 22 February 2021
Age group Total people tested Tested positive (%) Test rate per 1000 people
0 to 9 141609 0.09% 224.4
10 to 19 149281 0.14% 232.89
20 to 29 310078 0.2% 415.15
30 to 39 301048 0.18% 441.43
40 to 49 241714 0.16% 397
50 to 59 236485 0.16% 372.71
60 to 69 169407 0.16% 316.76
70 to 79 77167 0.14% 212.26
80+ 35531 0.16% 190.33
Unknown 1 0% NA
Total 1662321 0.16% 330.53
Tests by sex from 22 January to 22 February 2021
Sex Total people tested Tested positive (%) Test rate per 1000 people
Female 848425 0.16% 333.46
Male 717586 0.18% 288.76
Unknown 96310 0.09% NA
Total 1662321 0.16% 311.38

New Zealand's approach to COVID-19 testing

New Zealand has a goal of eliminating COVID-19. Planned, targeted testing is one of the tools that can help meet this goal. We don't test without planning.

COVID-19 is a new disease, so we had to build a completely new testing capability.

Related information

Page last updated: 22 February 2021

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