Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: Fourth death in Whanganui, 296 new cases

The Whanganui DHB says it has eight people in hospital with Covid-19 and two of them are receiving treatment for the virus. Photo / Moana Ellis

A fourth person in the Whanganui District Health Board region has died with Covid-19 as it recorded 296 new cases on Thursday, according to the Ministry of Health.

The Whanganui DHB said it had eight people in hospital with Covid-19 and two of them were receiving treatment for the virus.

As of April 6, Whanganui remained the area with the highest number of active cases per capita in the country, with 3039 people per 100,000 people positive with Covid-19.

The number of cases announced on Thursday was only slightly above the seven-day average which sits at 293 cases per day.

The ministry reported 11,634 new community cases around the country and 13 deaths on Thursday.

A further 639 people were in hospital with Covid-19.

"It's encouraging to see case numbers continuing to decline," the ministry statement said.

"This supports the trend we are seeing across the seven-day rolling average [of cases]. Today's seven-day average is 11,791, while last Thursday it was 14,515."

From Thursday, people aged 16 and 17 are able to receive a free booster dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine at least six months after completion of their primary course.