Stories by Rowan Quinn

Auckland's Covid-19 outbreak looks to have peaked but a leading data modeller is warning that the situation could change as the traffic light system is introduced.

DIY Covid tests will be available in pharmacies from mid-December, while businesses will have access to them from next week.

Pacific health teams had been frustrated at having to take a back seat, saying they know how to best help Pasifika Aucklanders with Covid-19.

Auckland's Waitemata District Health Board is looking for 133 extra staff, including 21 intensive care nurses, to help it cope with Covid-19 next year.

A man whose wife was in "deep distress" because of Covid-19 symptoms struggled to know when to call an ambulance because her oxygen readings appeared fine.

There are 289 Intensive Care Unit or High Dependency Unit beds at the moment, with Minister of Health Andrew Little insisting that could be ramped up to 550 if needed.

From today no one can work in healthcare unless they have had at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine or are exempt from the government mandate.

Auckland's Covid-19 outbreak is on track to reach a peak by the end of November, latest modelling suggests, but other pockets of the country are warned they might be in for a bumpy ride.

Hospitals are holding one-on-one interviews with workers holding out on the Covid-19 vaccine to try to persuade them to get it before they lose their job.

About 4000 district health board workers - 5 percent of all DHB staff - have not yet been vaccinated, just a few days before the no jab no job deadline.

The man's story is not uncommon, a support worker says, with some people in multi-generational homes isolating in vans or garages. Audio

The government is being urged to put the brakes on letting Aucklanders hit the shops this week, with one expert saying the outbreak could "explode and spin out of control".

Just 294 people with Covid-19 in the current outbreak are in MIQ facilities, says the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment.

Auckland's hospitals are now expecting to care for 120 Covid-19 patients a day at the peak of the current outbreak - more than double the current number.

A Māori health leader says loosening restrictions in the city will create the perfect storm, and put more Māori in harm's way.

None of Auckland's hospital emergency departments have finished their Covid-19 preparations more than nine weeks into the outbreak and with patient numbers set to surge.

Suspected anti-vaxxers have been making bogus Covid-19 vaccination bookings in one of the least protected areas of Aotearoa.

An Auckland emergency nurse says overworked nurses fear hospitals aren't ready for the Covid-19 tsunami - and often think about quitting.

Most hospital emergency departments are not offering patients Covid-19 vaccinations even though it's a perfect opportunity to reach people normally outside the health system.

Auckland is not vaxxed enough to relax restrictions but the fully vaccinated should be rewarded with small freedoms, say some experts.

Middlemore Hospital is planning to set up a tent to triage Covid patients as early as next week, as Auckland braces for a surge in cases. Audio

Two Northland communities who were at the bottom of the Covid-19 vaccination stats have had a massive surge in just a week.

Midwives worry pregnant women could be left in lurch if maternity carers can't work because of the vaccination mandate.

Auckland's daily Covid-19 case numbers could reach triple figures by the end of the month, data modelling expert Shaun Hendy says.

The calls for New Zealanders to get vaccinated are becoming more urgent by the day as Covid-19 embeds itself in the community.