Despite COVID-19 hospitalisations in NSW being at their highest point, the risk of severe disease right now is lower than during last year's Delta outbreak, an ABC analysis finds.
It's a tale of two outbreaks — and, as Charles Dickens wrote in the opening line of A Tale of Two Cities: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
But it's the worst of times because the number of people in NSW's hospitals with COVID-19 remains at its highest point ever, as a wave of infections washes over the state. "I think overall, this is good news, mostly because it means the vaccines are doing what they're designed to do, which is keep people out of hospital and stopping them from dying," he said.
A spokesperson for NSW Health said that since December 1 there had been a trend towards shorter hospital stays compared with earlier in the pandemic. Peter Collignon says the population is generally better off for two reasons — vaccination and the Omicron strain.Modelling released by NSW Health last week showed that 4,700 ward beds were predicted to be occupied by COVID-19 patients at the peak of the Omicron outbreak, which is expected to arrive in the next fortnight.ICU admissions are predicted to peak at 273 patients in coming weeks.
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