COVID-19
Please check this page regularly, as information may change.
Latest update: 8:30pm - 16.12.22
COVID-19 Update
As Aotearoa gets ready for summer holidays, now is a good time to remind everyone about how to stay safe from COVID-19.
Get ready by keeping up to date with your vaccinations, getting boosted if you’re eligible, keeping RAT tests nearby to test and isolate quickly at home, having masks on hand, and making a whānau plan in case anyone becomes unwell.
For tips and resources to share with whānau planning their safe-as summer, visit Have a safe-as summer | Unite against COVID-19
Testing centre closure
The final day for the Orchard Road COVID-19 Testing Centre will be Friday December 16.
After 27 months serving the population of Christchurch, the centre is closing as local pharmacies and healthcare providers are now able to manage the demand for testing and access to RAT kits in Canterbury.
Testing continues to be a key tool to help New Zealand identify, isolate and recover from COVID-19 as we all learn to live with it. COVID-19 tests are free and widely available.
- Visit the Request RATs website to find a RAT collection point near you.
- If you cannot leave home or there is no RAT collection site within twenty minutes of your home, you can call 0800 222 478 and a local provider will work with you to find a suitable access or delivery option.
- PCR tests are still available from your local healthcare provider if you need one. You must phone ahead to make an appointment.
If you are not enrolled at a general practice, please call Healthline on 0800 611 116 if you think you need a PCR test.
December Vaccination Events
For those in Christchurch, Te Whatu Ora’s JabberWaka will be offering vaccinations in the community over the next few weeks:
Linwood Community Arts Centre
Corner Stanmore Road & Worcester Street
Tuesday 20th & Thursday 22nd December: 12pm - 5pm
Phillipstown Community Hub Vaccination Clinic
39 Nursery Rd, Phillipstown
Wednesday 21st December, 10am – 2pm
Kaiapoi Central Park & Ride Vaccination Event
Next to New World on Charles Street
Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th December, 10am - 4pm
What you need to know
Purapura Whetu continues to operate under as below:
- We are accepting new referrals.
- Our sites at 166 St Asaph Street, 160 Woodham Road and the Phillipstown Community Hub are open, as well as our Māui Clinic.
- Our staff can support whānau via face to face, phone, and video calling.
- Our free helpline 0800 4 WHETU is available Mon to Fri 8:30am-4:30pm.
If you visit our sites, please follow these guidelines:
- Stay at home if you are unwell and get advice from your GP or Healthline.
- Sign in and out of our sites.
- Practice good hygiene - wash your hands regularly, cough and sneeze into your elbow.
Other useful information:
- In an EMERGENCY, CALL 111.
- COVID-19 information for New Zealand
- General health advice (0800 611 116)
- COVID-19 health advice (0800 358 5453)
- COVID-19 vaccination advice (0800 28 29 26)
- COVID-19 vaccination information
- My Vaccine Pass
- Preparing to self-isolate
- COVID-19 symptoms
- COVID-19 testing in Canterbury
- What to do if you have COVID-19
- COVID-19 welfare phone line (0800 512 337) Food and essential items, mobile data so you can keep in contact with friends and whānau, support for personal care and daily tasks, talking to your employer if you are worried about leave or pay, mental health support, support with family or sexual violence.
- Foodbanks in Canterbury
- Pātaka Kai free open street pantries
- Financial support
- 1737 - Need to talk? Free call or text 1737 any time, 24 hours a day. You’ll get to talk to (or text with) a trained counsellor. This service is completely free.
- Youthline (0800 37 66 33) Free call for 24/7 support. Free TXT 234 between 8am and midnight. Email talk@youthline.co.nz.
Māui Clinic @ South City

COVID-19 Vaccine Centre
To make a booking for you and your whānau to be vaccinated against COVID-19,
- Call our free 0800 number (0800 MAUI VAX - 0800 6284 829)
- Book online at: bookmyvaccine.covid19.health.nz
The clinic is located in South City Shopping Centre, Shop 15, 555 Colombo Street, Christchurch.
Māui Clinic @ South City is a collaboration between Purapura Whetu and the CDHB (Canterbury District Health Board).
Stories from the community
Memphis & Brooklyn
Wendy
Wendy chose to get vaccinated against COVID-19 at a marae clinic to help protect her whānau, and explains what the vaccination experience was like for her.
Trish
Trish got vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect herself as a vulnerable person living with asthma, and those she comes into contact with through her everyday work.