COVID-19 Care in the Community updates COVID-19 Antivirals •
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The Care in the Community team has been working with the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) and Te Puni Kōkiri to support their public information campaigns about COVID-19 antiviral medicines, which are due to begin this week. The campaigns aim to increase public awareness about Pharmac’s recently expanded eligibility criteria for COVID19 antivirals and increase uptake by our priority eligible populations. COVID-19 Health Hub information about antiviral medicines has been updated to better reflect the expanded eligibility criteria. New clinical guidance about antiviral options for COVID-19 infection for people with chronic kidney disease has been published on the Manatū Hauora – Ministry of Health website.
COVID-19 Clinical Care Module update •
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Scheduled maintenance and updates are planned for overnight Wednesday 19 October and therefore BCMS/CCCM will be unavailable for approximately 2 hours – from 11pm Wednesday 19 October to 1am Thursday 20 October. You will not be able to access BCMS/CCCM during this time. Please ensure you share this with any colleagues who may be working in these time frames. The next NCTS release is scheduled for 19 October and will have no impact on BCMS/CCCM users. Many of the changes in this release are driven by the opportunity to remove features that are not currently required for this phase of COVID-19 management. The CitC email inbox (CITC@contacttracing.health.nz ) will not be monitored on Labour Day, Monday 24 October. The NCTS Service Desk will operate as usual throughout the long weekend, and if there are queries or concerns regarding CCCM over the weekend, the NCTS Service Desk can be reached via email or phone, 7 days a week ncts.servicedesk@health.govt.nz, 0800 223 987
COVID-19 Response •
ESR confirmed last week it has sequenced New Zealand’s first case of Omicron subvariant BQ.1.1 in a person who tested positive for COVID-19. BQ1.1 was also detected in Te Waipounamu wastewater samples.