Covid-19 Omicron outbreak: 223 new cases in Whanganui DHB region

Whanganui's main vaccination centre can be found at 133 Wicksteed St. Photo / Bevan Conley

There were 223 new Covid -19 cases confirmed in the Whanganui district, according to the Ministry of Health on Sunday.

The Whanganui DHB said six cases were in Whanganui hospital with Covid-19, while being treated for other conditions.

One case was in hospital being treated for Covid-19.

The ministry reported 10,239 national community cases on Sunday. There were 848 people in hospital with the virus and four people had died.

A ministry spokesperson said it was encouraging to see that the total number of cases in hospital, while slightly higher today than yesterday, remained considerably lower than the peak of over 1000 cases in hospital from five days ago.

"This reflects the decrease in hospitalisations across Auckland, Waikato, and Bay of Plenty, some of the first regions to be affected by Omicron.

"The Ministry of Health continues to encourage people to be up to date with their vaccinations – including being boosted as the booster restores vaccine effectiveness for Omicron to 90 per cent after it declines after your second dose."

The ministry said people who've had Covid-19 before getting their booster dose should wait the recommended three months recovery before getting their booster dose, but they should book in their vaccination now.

Nearly 8000 people are currently booked for their booster dose.