7 April 2020

The Whanganui District Health Board region has received a correction on case numbers and the Whanganui Emergency Operations Centre can confirm we have had seven cases of coronavirus in the region.

All are related to overseas travel.

On Sunday, the Ministry of Health website added an eighth case to the Whanganui region.

This case is a man in his 20s living in Auckland. He was tested and diagnosed in Auckland, however the address recorded for him in the health database is a Whanganui address, so he was incorrectly attributed to Whanganui.

The DHB understands he has not lived in Whanganui for some time, nor visited Whanganui for some time. This case has now been correctly attributed to Auckland.

Five people are recovering in self-isolation in two different homes in the Ruapehu district and two are in the Whanganui district. Public Health staff are in daily contact with them and contact tracing has been undertaken.

Over the Easter long weekend, the community-based assessment centre at Whanganui Hospital will be open as usual – 8am to 9pm, seven days a week.

However, the other assessment centres will be closing on Thursday afternoon through to Easter Monday inclusive, re-opening Tuesday, April 14.

These are located at:

Whanganui - Gonville Health Centre, Abbott Street - 9am to 4pm;

Whanganui - Te Oranganui Health Centre, Wicksteed Street – 8.30am – 5pm (for those enrolled with Te Oranganui Trust services as well as other Iwi organisations and services);

Marton – Blackwell Street, Marton – 9am to 4pm;

Taihape - Taihape Hospital Campus - 9am to 4.30pm;

Ruapehu - Raetihi Community Space, 42 Seddon Street - 9am to 4.30pm.

Key Whanganui Region health information

· We ask people to stay home, and to look after themselves, and the people they care most for. By staying home, they can help slow the spread of the virus and break the chain.

· We can slow the spread if we all work together. Physical separation of two metres is of the utmost importance outside your bubble, but that does not mean social separation, so keep in touch by other means.

· Remember to regularly wash your hands and dry them well.

· And always cough and sneeze into your elbow.

· Reminder – The only hospital visiting allowed is one visitor for patients: At end stage of life, in the Critical Care Unit, in the Maternity Unit, and in the Children’s Ward. All visitors must be part of the patient’s bubble.

· Whanganui Hospital is open 24/7 for critical cases and those patients who need urgent care.

If you are unwell:

· Phone the COVID-19 Healthline on 0800 358 5453.

· If you are going to your general practice (GP) - phone first.

· If you are so unwell you need to come to Whanganui Hospital’s emergency department –please phone first.

Need assistance during the lockdown

· For Whanganui call 06 3490001 - this line operates 8am to 5pm with an after-hours response after that.

· For the Manawatu-Whanganui Civil Defence & Emergency Management welfare helpline call 0800 725678 which operates 7am to 7pm seven days a week.

· For Ruapehu south (Waimarino) call 06 3858364 – this line operates 24/7.

For more information

· To keep up to date with local information about important health services in the Whanganui Region visit www.facebook.com/whanganuidhb/ or www.wdhb.org.nz

· Te Ranga Tupua Collective Iwi Response – phone 0800 202 004 for help, advice and support for whānau in the Whanganui, Rangitīkei, Ruapehu, Otaihape and South Taranaki Region · For national information visit health.govt.nz/covid-19  or covid19.govt.nz