Even as new Covid-19 infections rose in Sydney on Sunday, Australian officials claimed there was no need to restrict Christmas celebrations, citing the country’s high vaccination rate as a factor in keeping people out of hospitals.
Greg Hunt, Australia’s health minister, expressed confidence that Australia will not have to follow the Netherlands, which has imposed a rigorous lockdown over the Christmas and New Year holidays to combat the extremely contagious Omicron form.
“We’re approaching summer, we have one of the highest immunisation rates in the world, and we’re in a completely different situation. So we don’t think that will happen in Australia “In a televised press conference, Hunt told reporters.
He claims that the Netherlands has seen far more illnesses and deaths than Australia throughout the epidemic, and that the country is now in the midst of winter, when cases are more likely to rise dramatically.
“We’re well prepared, and people are overwhelmingly… continuing to do an incredible job,” Hunt said, referring to the more than 90% of Australians over the age of 16 who have had all of their vaccinations.
New South Wales, Australia’s most populated state, reported 2,566 new cases on Sunday, up from 2,482 on Saturday. The number of patients in intensive care remained low at 28, which state Premier Dominic Perrottet described as “very encouraging.”
When reporters asked if the state was complacent in the face of growing instances, Perrottet said the number of cases in intensive care was the essential indicator.
“It’s a good time to relax. However, now is a crucial moment to receive your booster vaccine, as immunisation has been a key factor in New South Wales’ success “he stated
On Sunday, new infections in Victoria state declined to 1,240 from 1,504 the day before, with 81 patients in intensive care. Three new cases have been recorded in Tasmania.
According to health officials, the breakdown between Omicron and Delta instances among Australia’s new illnesses is yet unknown.
After closing its borders in March 2020, Australia fared far better than other countries in the pandemic, with roughly 247,000 total cases and 2,142 deaths.
