COVID-19 Alert Level Update

Note: Auckland is now at Alert Level 2.5. There has been no change in our policy at Retina Specialists.

As many of you may know, after more than 100 days of no community transmission of COVID-19 in New Zealand, there are 4 cases of COVID-19 in Auckland acquired from an unknown source, all within the same family. This signifies the return of community transmission of COVID-19 in New Zealand. Auckland is now in Alert Level 3, while the rest of the country is in Alert Level 2.

Retina Specialists will remain open in Alert Level 3 as an essential service.

Masks and Social Distancing
Our staff will be wearing masks again to protect our patients. As per the advice of New Zealand government, please wear a mask or face covering when you attend your appointment (if one is available to you). Our social distancing protocol will be in place. There will be 2 metre separation between people in the waiting room. Our staff may also ask you a few screening questions.

We would kindly request you to wait in their car until your appointment time, and not to have any support person when attending Retina Specialists to minimise risks.

Your Appointment
During the previous COVID-19 lockdown, attending medical appointment for a chronic condition is deemed essential. You will not be going against the rule by coming to Retina Specialists for your appointment at Alert Level 3. However, we understand if you wish to postpone your appointment because of COVID-19 risk. Please get in touch with us either by using our contact form, or by sending us an email.

For the patients who require intravitreal injections (i.e. avastin, eylea, etc.), there can be a significant risk of vision loss if your treatment is delayed (see previous blog post). We would generally encourage you to attend your scheduled appointment. Again, if your appointment needs to be postponed, please reach out to us using the instruction above.