Photo: NZ HeraldHospitals are planning how to cope when Covid becomes endemic in New Zealand and the unvaccinated turn up seriously sick. "We may be moving into a phase of what the DHBs are calling endemic Covid - even if we manage a form of elimination this time, as soon as the borders reopen, we will have Covid come back. A senior specialist at an Auckland hospital told the Herald how the health system would be affected by endemic Covid cases was a major concern for frontline workers. "We will have to keep hospital resources available to treat a steady number of endemic Covid cases. The system was already under stress, he said, so dealing with endemic Covid cases would have a knock-on effect and lead to delays in treatment for non-Covid patients.

Source: Otago Daily Times September 18, 2021 06:22 UTC