Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: 388 new cases in Whanganui DHB region

The Ministry of Health has announced 388 new cases in the Whanganui District Health Board region for Wednesday.

The number is slightly down from the daily high of 399 reported on Tuesday.

There were 20,087 new community cases in New Zealand on Wednesday.

Whanganui DHB chief executive Russell Simpson said modelling provided to the DHB suggested cases numbers would spike in the next two weeks.

"If we continue to track upwards over the next couple of weeks, that is in line with what the modelling has been suggesting. There is nothing out of step with what the modelling has suggested.

"The pandemic has been all about endurance. It would be nice to get some normality back to our lives. It has tested our community in a number of different ways and people's resilience levels."

A key part of the planning for the Whanganui DHB was ensuring critical services continued to operate throughout the Covid-19 response.

"I am also mindful of everything else people require. Whether that be knee operations, hip operations, general surgery, that we still provide opportunities for people to access those services.

"The delays in accessing care and long-term effects are unclear at the moment and I am really mindful of that in our planning."

The ministry says its daily reported cases may differ slightly from those reported at a DHB or local public health unit level.

This is because of different reporting cut-off times and the assignment of cases between regions, for example when a case is tested outside their region of residence.