A lead nurse has opened up on the human cost of Covid to urge Kiwis to get vaccinated

Joyce Pereira says some days she can't help but cry over the atrocities she's witnessed in Auckland City Hospital's Covid ward and ICU.

Right now, 51 Covid-19 patients are in hospital and five in intensive care.

Pereira says it varies between patients - but most have flu-like symptoms, shortness of breath, fever, raised heart rate, fatigue, loss of taste and smell.

She says it also depends on patients' underlying health conditions - and whether they're vaccinated.

Meanwhile, Auckland DHBs have come together to provide reassurance they are well placed to manage increased patient numbers.

They say they're continuing to work to expand capacity to care for ICU patients.

As of Thursday, ICU/HDU occupancy was 86-percent in Auckland, 44-percent in Counties Manukau and 50-percent in Waitemata.