The planned Covid-19 response has been updated to adapt for the arrival of Omicron, Manawatū health officials say.
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A person tested positive for Omicron in Palmerston North this week after returning from an MIQ facility in Christchurch.
The infected person is located in the wider Manawatū, but not in Palmerston North, MidCentral District Health Board said.
By Saturday morning there were no other positive cases in the area.
DHB senior Covid-19 officer Deborah Davies said staff had been preparing for a Covid-19 outbreak since March 2020 and have adapted their plans to deal with the Omicron variant.
"We have learnt from our colleagues at other district health boards, as well as those overseas.
"This information has been invaluable as we work closely with our partners to plan for a comprehensive health and welfare response to living with Covid-19."
Although most people infected with Omicron would be able to remain in their homes, officials were prepared for people needing hospital treatment, Davies said.
"This preparation has included reviewing our response-surge plans to ensure critical services and workforce continue throughout an escalation of Omicron or Delta cases in the community."
Late last year, DHB chief executive Kathryn Cook told RNZ a dozen beds at Palmerston North Hospital, including eight in intensive care, had ventilators, and other ventilators were available at the hospital for children or patients on the move.
Since then, Davies said, MidCentral had completed an upgrade to the hospital's ward 24.
"This now allows a greater capacity to be delivered to each bed space on that ward for those patients requiring higher than normal flow rates of oxygen," she said.
"We have a number of supported isolation facilities around the rohe, which are available if people are not able to safely isolate at home."
When asked how many people MidCentral expected to need hospital care should there be an Omicron community outbreak, Davies said modelling depended on vaccination rates, the time of the year, update of vaccination boosters and the make-up of a population.
So far 93 percent of people in the MidCentral region have been fully vaccinated.
"We are planning for a number of scenarios to ensure we can provide care in a way that is safe for staff and patients," Davies said.
