Fewer Covid cases in MidCentral overall, but 48 people are in hospital

The total number of Covid related deaths in MidCentral has reached 83.

MidCentral has 2466 total active cases of Covid-19 in the rohe (region). This is a 10.7 per cent decrease on the previous seven days.

"While we're pleased to see a decrease, we know schools are starting back today, which can increase Covid-19's spread. We'd encourage our community to keep following public health measures so we can protect one another," said Deborah Davies, Covid-19 senior responsible officer.

Last week eight Covid-related deaths were reported. The total number of Covid-related deaths in MidCentral is now 83.

With 48 Covid-19 patients now in Palmerston North Hospital, the teams are extremely stretched and working to set up a second Covid-19 ward.

Deborah Davies

"With 48 Covid-19 patients now in Palmerston North Hospital, the teams are extremely stretched and working to set up a second Covid-19 ward," Davies said.

There are no Covid-19 patients in the ICU.

Tuesday, July 26 - active cases by locality hub:
• Manawatū: 434
• Palmerston North: 1253
• Tararua: 208
• Horowhenua: 495
• Ōtaki: 102

Free masks are now available with all RAT pickups. Medical masks, as well as P2 and N95 masks, have been made available, with the P2 and N95 masks prioritised for those at highest risk of severe illness.
"We're doing what we can to make it easier for our community to do the right thing and mask up," Davies said.

Please ensure you report your results, positive or negative at: https://bit.ly/MyCovidRecord

There has never been a better time to mask up. Masking up greatly reduces our risk of getting seriously infected with Covid-19. So let's all do our part in keeping our communities safe.

For a full list of Covid-19 community collection sites, go to HealthPoint: https://bit.ly/CommunityCollectionSites or call the Covid-19 Healthline on 0800 358 5453.

To pre-order a RAT test, go to https://bit.ly/RequestRATs
For the full list of Covid-19 testing sites, go to: https://bit.ly/MDHBTest