Whānau calls for help soar during Omicron wave
The region recorded more than 4500 new Covid-19 cases today, and has more than 200 people in hospital with the virus.
Te Whānau o Waipareira Trust chief executive John Tamihere said the provider delivers about 300 food and medical packs to whānau isolating every day.
The demand for help is unprecedented, and Tamihere said the service received up to 750 calls for help in one day alone last week, and is fielding calls from community members and people referred by Work and Income.
"We get MSD referrals and ...then we get public referrals who come through different lines. I don't know any community-based agency that can - I don't even know any Crown-based agency that can handle that type of volume."
The trust also supports whānau with Covid-19 health queries and runs a testing and vaccination centre.
On 2 March it gave out 8800 rapid antigen tests to those who qualified, and it set up a new system for volunteers to help out with the huge increase in demand.
Link to article: Covid-19: Whānau calls for help soar during Omicron wave | RNZ News
