Key points
No impact on Rako Science from PSA healthcare worker planned strikes
Rako Science capacity is increasing with average turnaround (sample to result) less than 10 hours with 99.7% delivered within 24 hours
Rako Science opens new public collection sites in Whangarei, Newmarket in Auckland, Rotorua, New Plymouth and Christchurch City building nationwide network
Rako Science Director Leon Grice said today that the forthcoming PSA healthcare worker strikes will have no impact on Rako Science’s operations or service delivery for travelers needing a COVID-19 test to fly or its customers requiring surveillance testing to keep patients and workforces safe.
“Rako Science has never pooled samples to build its capacity and so the increasing positivity rate has no impact on our operations, throughput or capacity,” Grice said.
Rako Science’s average turnaround, from provision of sample to communication of result, continues to be less than 10 hours and 99.7% of results are delivered within 24 hours.
“We have advised our clients we have moved to automated SMS text messaging when SARS-CoV-2 is detected as we now have too many positive cases to communicate manually.
“We have aligned that SMS message with public health advice and have worked directly with public health authorities to ensure consistency of message.
“We are rolling our new collection sites nationwide to serve patients before they attend elective surgery, international and domestic air travelers and our large and small business customers,” Grice said.
Rako Science’s nationwide collection network includes sites in Whangarei, Auckland (Auckland Airport, Newmarket, Brown’s Bay, Penrose, Sylvia Park, Parnell), Hamilton x2, Tauranga, Rotorua, New Plymouth, Napier, and Christchurch City x2 with more to come.
 | Leon Grice is one of the three founding directors of Rako Science Limited and is an entrepreneur who has established a number of successful businesses. He also served as New Zealand Consul General, Los Angeles from 2012-2017. |
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Rako Science is a pathology company offering saliva based rt-qPCR tests to the travelling public. Rako Science uses the University of Illinois covidSHIELD saliva test that was diagnostically validated and accredited by IANZ and contracted to IGENZ Ltd. Rako Science’s test is the first saliva test accredited in New Zealand and remains the only diagnostically validated, published an peer reviewed test in New Zealand.