Covid 19 coronavirus: Hospital cases in Christmas wave have potential to be worst yet, modelling shows

Video / SuppliedKiwis will soon have a new way to discover whether they’ve unknowingly had Covid-19, with a simple blood-based test. Video / SuppliedBy Rowan Quinn of RNZThe number of people in hospital with Covid-19 could hit a record high in the Christmas wave. New modelling has been released by the Ministry of Health, suggesting a likely peak of about 1100 people in hospital with Covid on any given day. That is more than both the first Omicron wave in March (1000 a day) and second in July (836), partly driven by more older people getting the virus for the first time. The updated scenario shows community cases peaking at about 13,000 a day by the end of this month, up from 11,000 a day in the early modelling for this third Omicron wave.