New Zealand will move to phase 3 of the Government's Omicron response plan at midnight tonight as community cases and hospitalisation rates continue to surge.
Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins today confirmed that community cases have risen to around 5000 - ahead of the Ministry of Health's 1pm
update.
Yesterday's 3297 local cases and 179 Covid-positive patients in hospital set a new record in a week of records (2365 cases, 116 hospitalisations and two Covid-related deaths on Monday; 2846 cases and 143 hospitalisations on Tuesday).
It's an uncertain and stressful time for many, so we asked University of Auckland epidemiologist Professor Rod Jackson to (virtually) stop by to answer your Covid-related questions (he may just be able to help you with your sailing questions too).
• Thanks for your great questions - they're now closed since we only have Professor Jackson for a couple of hours this afternoon.
