The official daily data from NSW Health says that 1,156 people being treated in hospital for COVID, with 207 being treated in ICU:
NSW recorded 1,542 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
No new cases were acquired overseas in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, and 34 previously reported cases have been excluded following further investigation. pic.twitter.com/9Xc9Q15aof
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) September 10, 2021
However, when ‘hospital in the home’ (HITH) admissions are also counted, there are currently more than 4500 people in NSW being treated for COVID:
NSW has dramatically increased its Hospital in the Home program, with more than 3400 COVID-19 patients being managed remotely in their homes as part of a strategy to bolster health capacity ahead of an expected surge in hospitalisations as the state reopens…
Many predict major hospitals will increasingly be for only acute cases and the bulk of admissions will be managed remotely through sophisticated monitoring and diagnostic applications.
HITH is obviously a great idea since it frees up hospital wards for the most serious cases.
That said, I wish NSW reported HITH admissions in its daily COVID briefing, since it would give a truer indicator of severe COVID infection and the health resources being used to fight it.
