Surge of Whanganui Covid-19 cases

Cases in Whanganui have spiked over recent weeks. Photo / Unsplash

A third Covid-19 wave is spreading through the country, including Whanganui.

Whanganui City College teacher Dave Craig, who recently tested positive for the virus, said he believed people had become complacent.

“It’s still killing people, which is obviously terrible,” Craig said.

“We have the medicine in place so people should get the shots they can and just try to carry on.”

He said this was the second time he had contracted the virus.

“The first time I got Covid-19 was in the first week of the last school holidays, and now I have it in the first week of this break, so that was really annoying.”

Like the rest of the country, Whanganui has recently experienced a significant jump in Covid-19 cases.

In the past week, the Ministry of Health (MOH) reported there had been 538 new Covid-19 cases in Whanganui.

On Monday alone 139 new cases were announced, with 111 on Tuesday.

The previous month, the ministry reported 29 new cases on November 13, and 26 on November 12.

Te Whatu Ora Whanganui chief operating officer Katherine Fraser-Chapple said Whanganui Hospital had plans in place to manage a surge of patients, no matter what the cause.

“There has been a small increase of patients admitted to hospital either with or for Covid-19,” Fraser-Chapple said.

She said the total number of patients each day had been fewer than 10, with most patients with Covid-19 admitted for other conditions.

“Any increase in the number of people in our community that are unwell is a concern.”

Fraser-Chapple said the hospital managed Covid-19 surges earlier this year and in winter illness in other years.

Recent Ministry of Health statistics showed three times as many New Zealanders have died due to Covid-19 compared to a typical year of influenza.

More than 2000 people died this year with Covid-19 identified as the underlying or contributing cause of death, the statistics show. Over the past 30 years, an average of 695 people a year died due to influenza or pneumonia.

Since 1991, the highest number of deaths attributed to influenza or pneumonia in a single year was 1197 and the lowest was 382.

Covid-19 also put more people in hospitals this year than influenza did in a typical year.

More than 20,000 people were admitted to hospital for Covid-19 in 2022. In 2019 influenza hospitalised 6547 people.

National Immunisation Programme group manager operations Rachel Mackay said as Covid-19 cases were back on the rise, they were encouraging everyone to be up to date with their vaccinations, including booster shots.

In the Whanganui district, 89 per cent of adults (12 and over) were partially vaccinated and 87 per cent had completed their primary course (the first three vaccinations), she said.

Uptake of the first booster for Whanganui residents is 73 per cent (18 and over who completed their primary course six months ago) and second booster uptake is 46 per cent (based on eligibility for people aged 50-plus and 40 to 49-year-old Māori or Pacific people who have received the first booster).

For children (5-11 years old), 36 per cent are partially vaccinated and 18 per cent have completed their primary course.

A ministry spokesperson said there were currently no plans to expand access to second boosters this year.

“Our primary focus continues to be on increasing the number of people that have been boosted, especially among vulnerable groups.”

Nationwide there had been an average of about 3500 new cases reported every day over recent weeks, the ministry said.