CCDHB and HDHB chief medical officer John Tait said while the decline in daily case numbers was pleasing, hospital case numbers continued to fluctuate.
"However, to date, hospitalisations have generally aligned with our forecasts and expectations," he said.
"Wellington Regional Hospital is currently operating at around 90 per cent occupancy of more than 350 resourced adult inpatient bed spaces, with Hutt Hospital currently at around 68 per cent occupancy of more than 230 resourced adult inpatient bed spaces."
Wellington ICU was operating at 60 per cent occupancy and Hutt Valley ICU at 50 per cent.
"Both hospitals regularly operate at high levels of occupancy – particularly Wellington Regional Hospital, which is the tertiary provider delivering services for the lower North and upper South Islands – and occupancy fluctuates from day to day as patients are admitted and discharged."
Although occupancy levels were consistent with what is normally seen at this time of year, Tait said staff absences were still putting pressure on services.
As at 11.59pm last night around 14 per cent of clinical staff at Wellington Regional Hospital were absent, 18 per cent at Kenepuru Community Hospital, and six per cent at Hutt Hospital.
"This absenteeism includes staff absences for a range of reasons – such as caring for dependents who may need to isolate – and absence numbers are continuously changing as people recover, or complete isolation, and return to work."
The DHB would not speak on whether hospitalisations had peaked, but said they continued to watch the Covid situation closely.
"As the Covid-19 climate is changing and evolving, we continue to closely monitor the situation for a peak in the near future and plan and adapt accordingly."
Tait said there were just over 12,700 active cases in the region, but the number of people being supported than this was much larger.
"The 2DHBs recognise that isolating at home can be a scary and difficult experience for some, and our work to ensure people in our communities have what they need to isolate and recover safely at home is part of a multi-agency effort.
"People who are isolating can access support in a number of different ways including by request through the initial health form or via referral from their GP, health provider, or the Ministry of Social Development."
The first step to being connected with support was reporting a positive result, and the support given would depend on people's individual needs.
It includes food support – from food packages to pre-prepared meals – delivery of medications, and regular contact to check on their mental and physical health.
"Being part of the effort to help people to isolate and recover safely at home is an important part of the 2DHBs' Covid-19 response, and people across our regions can have assurance that support and assistance is available to them during what can be a daunting and vulnerable time."
