Australian states break grim records for COVID-19 infections-Xinhua

Australian states break grim records for COVID-19 infections

Source: Xinhua| 2022-01-04 11:27:00|Editor: huaxia

SYDNEY, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Australia's most populous state of New South Wales (NSW) recorded a new peak in COVID-19 hospitalizations and daily infections on Tuesday, as cases continue to balloon across the country.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Australia also passed the grim milestone of 500,000 on Tuesday.

NSW, the epicenter of Australia's current wave of the pandemic, recorded 23,131 new cases and two deaths in the past 24 hours.

The state also has 1,344 COVID-19 patients in hospital, up by 140 from the previous day, bringing the state's hospitalization total to surpass the previous high of 1,268, which was recorded in September last year.

The mounting hospitalizations continue to strain the state's public healthcare system. NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant urged people to stay away from hospitals unless necessary.

"While we are very well-placed in the global context to manage this case burden, it is important that we all play our part in not placing an unnecessary burden on the health system," she said on Monday.

Local newspaper Sydney Morning Herald said that across the state, intensive care unit nurses are once again working excessive hours of double shifts and overtime.

The second most populous state of Victoria also reported a record-breaking 14,020 cases on Tuesday, the first time for the state seeing over 10,000 COVID cases in a single day, with 516 cases in the hospital.

In order to process a backlog of outstanding COVID-19 test results, a number of private pathology testing sites in Victoria have suspended operations and will remain closed for at least the remainder of this week.

The Victorian government suggested asymptomatic people who want to check if they are infected with COVID-19 should go for a rapid antigen test instead of a PCR test, and should continue to monitor for symptoms and stay COVID-19 safe if they cannot get rapid antigen test kits, which are in short supply across the country. Enditem

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