“A lot of the 0-4 [age group care consists of] reassurance for the parents because they’ve struggled at home with multiple siblings that are sick, so there’s a lot of tired whānau that are needing advice and maybe some basic prescriptions,” White said.
Whanganui Regional Health Network chief executive Judith Macdonald said the volume of respiratory illnesses observed hadn’t been enough to scale up the response at Wam.
“We do know that Covid has definitely got a presence within the community, and it’s ongoing - as a workplace, we’re seeing one person per week off with Covid.”
Compared to previous years in which the spread of Covid within the community was higher, the number of respiratory illnesses was not peaking.
“We haven’t seen any significant peak compared to the previous two years; it’s been fairly expected numbers for a normal winter period,” White said.
There had also been fewer self-presentations to Wam for Covid-19.
White said most people were managing Covid-19 symptoms at home and with their general practitioners.
“There certainly isn’t any fear around it that we’ve noticed here.”
People hadn’t been exposed as often to viral illnesses during the past three years of Covid due to time spent isolating, she said.
“Probably, people with the general cold and flu have found it quite horrible, and the way they’re presenting, some of these people are feeling worse than they have been with Covid.”
White said there could be other factors involved, such as being rundown or personal problems, that would affect the way a patient recovered.
Macdonald said it was common to see people succumb to viruses at this time of year.
“Sometimes it happens at the end of the year when you’re worn out and your defences and immunity aren’t as good.”
Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.
