Aotearoa is in a 'dangerous period of this outbreak' according to experts who are urging the government to take control.
The expected surge of cases will overwhelm hospital operations, quarantining and also contact tracing.
National Māori Pandemic Group co-leader Dr Papaarangi Reid is worried Māori will suffer the most as only 44% of the Māori population are fully vaccinated.
"We're calling for Alert level 4 for two weeks to try to bring it under some control," Reid says.
Politics and business are taking priority over public health and the current outbreak is a really dangerous time for Māori, she says.
"The number of cases on average are now Māori."
"It has also moved into people who live in precarious social circumstances, living in overcrowding housing. Some might also have mental health or addictions."
"Some might also work in the cash economy and are not getting any support for their business. For all of these reasons people are busting out of their bubble."
Middlemore Hospital is also reaching capacity, which has led to a respiratory ward now set up for only Covid patients, while also setting up tents to provide more beds if the numbers get worse.
Hospital services director Vanessa Thornton says 99% of the Covid patients weren't vaccinated.
"We know that the vaccination makes people not likely to require intensive care or even hospital admission," she said.
"That's our main concern."