The Health Ministry's testing of frontline workers for covid-19 is being blasted as a serious failing

Ministry data shows almost 100 healthcare workers were infected doing their jobs during the first outbreak.

At the union E Tu, Sam Jones says we need mandatory testing of health workers, including people working across rest homes and in-home care.

He says ongoing testing across all the health sector and not just DHBs, will help spot cases early and reduce the spread.