A record 2,482 Covid-19 coronavirus cases were recorded in Australia’s most populous state on Saturday, a day after international entrance requirements for vaccinated visitors were eased.
Since the start of the pandemic, New South Wales has had the highest daily caseload of any Australian jurisdiction. According to NSW Health, the omicron variant is responsible for the majority of the recent instances, and patients should get booster doses as soon as they’re eligible.
Despite this, only 206 people have been hospitalised with Covid-19 in a state with a population of more than 8 million people. Twenty-six people are in intensive care, and one person has died. New South Wales has a vaccination rate of about 95% for people aged 16 and up.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison stressed that living with the virus is about hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and the amount of people on ventilators, not case statistics. “We’ve been preparing for this for a long time.” At a press conference on the island of Tasmania, Morrison declared, “We planned to live with the virus.” “We didn’t intend to be cooped up.”
On Friday, the state of New South Wales relaxed its requirements for overseas travellers and aircrew arriving in Sydney. They will no longer be required to isolate for 72 hours and will just be required to test negative after arrival, according to a press release from the state administration. After a viral case was discovered, at least 100 recent high school graduates enjoying the end of the year in Byron Bay were instructed to isolate, according to Nine News late Friday.
The pupils are not permitted to access the popular beach town and are only permitted to leave a locked-down camping area if they are returning home. Meanwhile, after reporting 1,504 new infections and seven deaths on Saturday, the neighbouring state of Victoria is removing isolation restrictions for overseas arrivals. A total of 384 patients were admitted to hospitals, with 84 of them requiring acute care.
After easing its hard border over a week ago, South Australia reported 73 infections, the biggest daily caseload ever recorded in the state, while Queensland reported 31, the highest daily caseload ever recorded in the state.
