Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: Two adults and an infant in hospital with virus in Taranaki

An infant is amongst three people in the Taranaki region hospitalised with Covid-19.

There are 52 new cases of Covid-19 in the Taranaki District Health Board region today.

The Taranaki District Health Board (TDHB) says two adults and an infant are in hospital. They are the first people with Covid-19 in the Omicron outbreak to be hospitalised in the region.

Today's 52 new cases are among the 13,606 new cases reported nationally by the Ministry of Health on Saturday.

The TDHB says it currently can't provide an accurate total number of active cases across the region due to the changeover in testing data system. Testing is moving from all PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests to predominantly RATs (rapid antigen tests). It is currently also working through the information coming in to provide locality data to show how many cases are in the north, south and central parts of the region.

Saint John's Presbyterian Church in Hāwera remains the only location of interest in Taranaki on the Ministry of Health's website. People who were at the location on Sunday, February 20, between 9am-11.39am are considered close contacts. Under phase 3 of the Omicron response, close contacts are now advised to self-monitor for Covid-19 symptoms for 10 days after they were exposed. If symptoms develop, they must get a test and stay at home until they get a negative test result.