
THE number of COVID-19 related deaths in the Hunter this year have shadowed the first two years of the pandemic combined, and it is still only April.
Almost five months into 2022, the number of COVID-19 related deaths in Hunter New England have increased seven-fold on the year before, with the virus contributing to the deaths of 136 people in the region in 2022 alone. In 2020, five COVID-related deaths were recorded within the health district. After the Delta and Omicron waves of the virus hit the region in 2021, 19 people lost their lives.