Sydney Jan 3 (BUS) – The Australian government said the milder impact of the Omicron strain of COVID-19 means the country may go ahead with plans to reopen the economy even as new infections reach a record high of more than 37,000 and the number of infected people. People rose to the hospital.
Record numbers of daily cases were reported on Monday in the states of Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania, as well as the Australian Capital Territory, Reuters reported.
In New South Wales, there were 20,794 cases, up from Sunday’s figure but below the daily record of 22,577 cases on Saturday, with testing numbers dropping over the New Year’s holiday weekend.
The national daily total hit a record high of more than 37,150 cases, surpassing 35,327 cases on Saturday, with Western Australia and the Northern Territory continuing to report.
“We have to stop thinking about the number of cases and think about serious illness, living with the virus, managing our health and making sure we monitor these symptoms and keep our economy going,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison told Channel Seven.
The number of hospitalizations rose to 1,204 in NSW, up more than 10% from Sunday and more than triple the level on Christmas Day.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said the advice to the government was that the Omicron strain was more transmissible but also milder than other variants, reducing risks to both individuals and the health system.
Michael Bonning, chair of the Australian Medical Association’s New South Wales Council, said the surge in hospitalizations combined with the peak furlough period and the number of health workers exposed to COVID is pressing on capacity.
“With the Christmas period and with hospital workers on vacation due to the state of close contact between them … we found it became very difficult for staff, especially sensitive areas in hospitals,” he told ABC TV.
In late December, the government changed its advice about when people should get a free PCR test for COIVD-19, and called for greater use of rapid antigen tests, in part to ease pressure on testing capacity. Read more
But rapid antigen tests are not available, and Morrison said the government would not cover the cost for people to test themselves, which he estimated at A$15 (US$10.90).
“We’re in another phase of this pandemic now, where we can’t make everything free,” he said.
Eight deaths from COVID were reported on Monday, bringing the nationwide death toll from the pandemic to more than 2,260.
MI