Omicron is continuing to creep into the community with 34 new cases of the highly-infectious variant reported today. Video / NZ Herald
Six Covid-19 cases in Tauranga have now been linked to the Omicron outbreak, with two confirmed to have the variant.
A KFC restaurant and a gym in the city have been named high-risk locations of interest for Omicron.
Four new suspected or probable Omicron cases were announced yesterday.
One is part of the same household as the city's first two reported cases. Yesterday the Ministry of Health confirmed that pair had the variant after whole-genome sequencing.
The other three suspected Omicron infections are linked to a case's visit to early childhood centre BestStart Pyes Pā. These three cases will be included officially in today's numbers.
KFC on Cameron Rd is a location of interest. Photo / Luke Kirkness
KFC Cameron Rd has been linked to a probable Omicron case and the CityFitness Fraser Cove was linked to a suspected Omicron case.
The KFC case was at the store on Thursday last week between 5pm and 10.16pm. A sign on the door yesterday said it was temporarily closed. The business was approached for comment.
CityFitness had an exposure window Tuesday between 10am and noon and the previous day, January 24 between 10am and noon.
The ministry advised that anyone at the gym or KFC during those times should self-isolate and get tested immediately and again on day five after being exposed.
If symptoms start to show, they should get tested immediately.
CityFitness said in a statement it was working with the ministry to confirm when and what specific areas of the 1700sq m facility the person was in, to identify close contacts and avoid members and staff having to isolate "unnecessarily".
Bay of Plenty District Health Board Covid-19 incident controller Trevor Richardson said contract tracing teams were following up with people known to be at the KFC during the exposure window.
"All people present at this location and time are close contacts, and are being asked to isolate and get tested immediately."
He said there was enough Covid-19 testing capacity in Tauranga.
"We evaluate the testing capacity and accessibility in and around any exposure events and look to support that with additional testing where necessary.
Three cases have been linked to BestStart in Pyes Pa. Photo / Sandra Conchie
"At this time we have sufficient capacity at existing sites across the Bay of Plenty to test, and people can find their nearest site on the Healthpoint NZ website.
"We continue to urge anyone with symptoms, or anyone who has been to a location of interest at the times notified, to isolate immediately and get tested promptly."
The Ministry of Health reported two other cases in the Eastern Bay of Plenty yesterday. It did not link them to the Omicron outbreak and both were being investigated for links to previously reported cases.
As of yesterday, 90 community cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand were either confirmed to be Omicron or had been linked to previously reported cases, an increase of 34, the ministry said.
There were cases in Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Palmerston North, and Nelson Tasman. Some had been linked retrospectively to Omicron either through whole-genome sequencing or epidemiologically.
Children and Omicron
Auckland pediatrician Dr Jin Russell said most children experience Covid-19 similarly to a cold and many would have no symptoms at all.
"Covid-19 is a much less severe illness in children," she said.
"For the most part, the illness can be managed at home."
She said the Omicron variant manifested in children similarly to "other common respiratory viruses in childhood".
"It looks as though Omicron is less severe for children in general than RSV [respiratory syncytial virus], which went around our daycares last year.
"This is not to minimise the impact of any of these illnesses, but just to give parents a sense of what to expect."
She said daycares were places with lots of physical contact, so it was important for adults to be fully vaccinated and boosted, for spaces to have good ventilation, and for parents to keep sick children home.
"Sometimes children are sent to daycare and they've got a little bit of a runny nose – we really can't do that anymore [with Omicron]."
She is said children with the virus who have trouble breathing, unable to keep their fluids down, or going to the bathroom abnormally, should be taken to a GP to be checked.
