Cases of Covid-19 are down on last week, as experts warn of a summer wave approaching . There have been 889 new cases of Covid-19 reported in New Zealand over the week to Monday, and seven further deaths attributed to the virus. There were 106 cases in hospital, with the number in intensive care unavailable.
The highest number of cases was in Canterbury, followed by Auckland. University of Otago professor Michael Baker told Sunday Morning it was easier to reduce transmission in summer, but summer waves could still be very harmful. "The trouble with these waves isn't so much that the new subvariants that are causing them are more harmful, it's mainly that they just infect a whole lot more people," he said.
"The number of deaths might increase from, say, five a week up to maybe 30 or 35 per week. And we're going to get more cases of long Covid." Baker said people had become "very complacent", and while the Covid-19 pandemic had officially ended in May 2023, there are still two waves - a winter and a summer one - that can cause a lot of harm.
"We all want this to go away. I mean, it's been very disruptive and we can't wish it away," he said. Last week, Health NZ reported 917 new cases and five deaths .
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