Australia kicked off 2022 with surging cases

Australia started 2022 with a record number of new Covid-19 cases as an outbreak centered in the eastern states grew, and New South Wales eased its isolation rules for healthcare workers as the number of people hospitalized with the virus rose.

National cases and hospitalisations rise

New Australian COVID-19 cases dipped on Sunday as testing slowed over a holiday weekend, but remained well over 30,000 and hospitalisations rose further in New South Wales as concerns grow about potential strains on the national health system.

Newly diagnosed cases in New South Wales, the most populous state, dropped to 18,278 from 22,577 the day before as the number of tests conducted on New Year’s Day dropped by a quarter.

In Tasmania, a new daily record of 466 new infections were reported on Monday, compared to 397 and 411 on the previous two days. The ACT recorded 514 new cases of COVID-19, marking a fresh one day record for the territory. Monday’s infection count was just above the previous record of 506 cases registered on Sunday. The national capital has also seen a rise in the number of hospitalisations due to COVID-19, increasing from nine to 11 in the past day.

However, hospitalisations, which authorities have signalled is a figure they are more closely monitoring than total case numbers as they shift towards living with the virus, jumped by 18% to 1,066 in NSW on Sunday.

The number of patients being treated for COVID-19 in intensive care has also risen, from one to two. Of the two in intensive care, one is on a ventilator.

There were 3,018 negative tests registered at ACT government clinics on Sunday. It comes as some testing clinics in Canberra reached capacity less than an hour after opening on Monday morning.

Health authorities have said there are now 2116 active cases in the Canberra community. From Monday, Canberrans are further restricted from heading to Western Australia, after the state reclassified the ACT as a high-risk jurisdiction.

That is WA’s second-highest level of COVID-19 risk classification.

Entry will only be granted to travellers who are fully vaccinated. Visitors must take a PCR test within 24 hours of arriving in WA and self-isolate for two weeks.

The number of patients with COVID-19 in intensive care rose from 83 to 95 in NSW. In Victoria, 56 people are in ICU with COVID-19 and 24 are on ventilators, while 10 people are in ICU in Queensland.

Australia will NEVER go back into lockdown

Prime Minister Scott Morrison urged Australians to remain calm and to not be alarmed about the sharp rise in cases and hospitalisation figures.

Scott Morrison has declared ‘the days of lockdown are over’ even with Australia detecting record Covid case numbers. The Prime Minister said the dominant Omicron variant was 75 per cent less severe than the Delta strain and could be publicly managed like other infectious diseases such as flu.

Australia detected 32,216 new Covid cases on Sunday after a record 35,208 on Saturday but only 148 people are in ICU with the disease. Asked if Australia would need a ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdown to stop the surge, Mr Morrison told the Today Show: ‘No. Because it is not about numbers.

‘The days of lockdown are gone. We’re going forward. We’re not going back. That’s not how you manage this virus.

All Australian states, except for Western Australia, have begun to live with the virus as vaccination levels have risen, and the easing in restrictions has pushed cases higher.