Great News! New COVID-19 and Flu Wave Overwhelms Clinics and Hospitals Across New Zealand.
Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Jun 06, 2025 13 hours, 14 minutes ago
Medical News: COVID-19 and Flu Resurgence Sparks Concern as New Zealand Health System Struggles to Cope
A sharp and sudden spike in COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses has swept across New Zealand, putting immense pressure on already overstretched healthcare facilities. Hospitals, after-hours clinics, and general practitioners (GPs) are grappling with an early and aggressive winter wave of infections. This recent surge has been especially visible in the Auckland region, where hospitalizations for severe respiratory infections jumped by over 50 percent in just one week.
Great News! New COVID-19 and Flu Wave Overwhelms Clinics and Hospitals Across New Zealand
The latest data from Environmental Science and Research (ESR) highlights that COVID-19 cases are rising sharply, as confirmed through wastewater testing.
https://www.esr.cri.nz/digital-library/respiratory-illness-dashboard/
At the same time, the number of people seeking medical help for flu-like symptoms has increased significantly. Calls to Healthline for influenza-like illnesses rose markedly in the week ending 1 June. This
Medical News report explores the real-world impact of the current outbreak, focusing on the strain it is placing on medical services and the people trying to access them.
Desperate Patients and Overwhelmed Clinics
In Lower Hutt, one woman shared her experience of trying to find urgent medical help after repeated failed attempts to secure a GP appointment. She eventually turned to the Lower Hutt After-Hours Medical Centre, only to be met with a sign saying they were no longer taking patients that evening due to overwhelming demand. Her story sparked a wave of similar accounts from locals online, with over 100 people commenting on a community Facebook post to share their frustrations.
The next day, she returned as soon as the clinic opened and finally received treatment. She praised the staff for their dedication but pointed out the glaring issue: there simply aren't enough medical professionals to meet the community’s needs. Lower Hutt After-Hours Medical Centre is the only walk-in facility for a population exceeding 100,000 people. Manager Mark O'Connor revealed they typically treat around 45 patients a night but regularly have to turn people away.
“With winter approaching, we’re just overloaded,” O’Connor said. “We can have 20 to 30 people queuing at the door when we open at 5.30pm, and even with four doctors on duty, we still can’t see everyone.”
https://www.lowerhuttafterhours.co.nz/
Outbreaks in Vulnerable Communities
The latest ESR data also reported five confirmed outbreaks of respiratory illness. Three were in aged-care facilities located in Nelson-Marlborough, Capital and Coast, and the Bay of Plenty. Two more occurred in ear
ly childhood centres in the Wellington region. These settings house some of the most vulnerable people, raising alarm bells for health authorities.
Hospitalizations for severe respiratory infections increased more than 50 percent in the week leading to 1 June, though overall rates remain similar to the same time last year. Calls to Healthline rose but were still slightly lower than last winter’s peak. Nevertheless, the steady rise in infections is concerning, especially as the seasonal flu and COVID-19 continue to circulate simultaneously.
Adding to the problem is a national shortage of general practitioners. O’Connor noted that the clinic is not just seeing respiratory cases but also an increase in patients with mental health issues and injuries—conditions that would typically be managed by daytime GP services. The clinic is preparing to move into larger premises and expand its hours by the end of the year. But finding qualified staff remains a significant hurdle.
Hospitals Becoming the Last Resort
Health NZ national chief medical officer, Professor Dame Helen Stokes-Lampard, acknowledged the growing pressure on emergency departments (EDs). Patients unable to see a GP—either due to being unenrolled or facing long wait times—are now increasingly turning to hospitals for basic care needs. But EDs are not designed to handle large volumes of minor respiratory illnesses.
“There’s a direct correlation between pressure on EDs and struggling primary care services,” she explained. “EDs are built for emergencies, not for managing the high volumes of flu and COVID cases that general practice is much better equipped for.”
Health NZ is making preparations for the winter surge by hiring additional staff, optimizing hospital bed usage, and pushing forward with vaccination efforts. So far, over 1 million New Zealanders have received a flu shot in 2025, but only around 250,000 are up-to-date with COVID-19 boosters—a number health officials hoped would be much higher.
COVID-19 in Wastewater Signals Wider Spread
Perhaps most concerning is the ESR's wastewater surveillance, which showed a 75 percent jump in COVID-19 detection between 18 and 25 May. This spike indicates that real infection rates may be significantly higher than official reported cases, suggesting a broader, silent spread of the virus in the community.
https://esr-cri.shinyapps.io/wastewater/#region=Auckland&site=Auckland%20Region&log_or_linear=linear&period=eighteenMonthsButton
A GP from South Auckland, stressed that although many are claiming the current COVID-19 variants are “less virulent,” they still pose serious risks—especially to people with weakened immune systems. He also highlighted that influenza remains a dangerous and potentially deadly virus.
“I’ve had several patients end up in hospital with influenza recently. It’s not just a bad cold—it can be serious,” he said.
Conclusion
As New Zealand heads deeper into winter, the early signs point to a health system once again under siege from rising respiratory infections. With flu and COVID-19 cases increasing, and healthcare facilities stretched thin due to workforce shortages and high demand, urgent action is needed. From reinforcing vaccination drives and expanding clinic hours to hiring more staff and strengthening community outreach, the country faces a tough few months ahead. Failure to act swiftly could mean more people turned away at clinic doors, longer ED wait times, and an overwhelmed system ill-equipped to cope with the dual viral threats circulating in the community.
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Medical News.
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https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/coronavirus
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