Australia records 4000 cases in a day

|

Australia has recorded more than 4000 COVID-19 cases in a single day for the first time.

The unwanted record of 4110 infections nationwide comes just two days after the 3000-case mark was surpassed.

There are now almost 247,000 active cases across the country in total although only 110 virus patients are receiving intensive hospital care.

NSW posted 2482 new infections on Saturday, the most in a single day for any Australian state or territory since the pandemic began.

Victoria added 1504 cases along with seven virus-related deaths, and while numbers are low by comparison in other jurisdictions, they are beginning to climb.  

Despite this, authorities say there will be more than enough COVID-19 vaccine to meet demand for boosters and for when children are eligible to receive the jab.

Vaccine providers have been advised to offer some flexibility over Christmas.

However the gap between second and subsequent shots will remain at five months, with the country’s leading immunisation advisory group, ATAGI, saying the timetable for them won’t be brought forward.

“They are the medical experts who decide those things, that is their job, to make the medical determinations about what the appropriate period is between a booster shot and the second vaccine,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters in Hobart on Saturday.

“Now I know that that is under constant review, I know that they are looking at different timeframes but at this point, they’ve decided not to do that.”

The head of Australia’s vaccine rollout Lieutenant-General John Frewen says more than four million people will be eligible for boosters by year’s end, rising to seven million in January and 11 million in February.

So far, more than a million Australians have received a third jab.

An extra 2.3 million people will also be able to receive the vaccine from January when five- to 11-year-olds become eligible.

However Lt-Gen Frewen says there won’t be difficulty with supply.

While the Omicron variant continues to surge, states continue to ease restrictions.

NSW and Victoria will no longer require international arrivals to isolate for 72 hours upon arrival.

Fully vaccinated travellers will instead be required to get a test within 24 hours of landing and isolate until they get a negative result.

Saturday’s record case numbers in NSW eclipsed the previous mark of 2297 set by Victoria on October 14.

South Australia posted a second consecutive state record with 73 cases, Queensland recorded 31 and the ACT 18.

Even so, Mr Morrison warned living with the virus under the national plan was not about case numbers.

“We need to be careful in how we talk about case numbers. We’re not going to alarm people on case numbers,” he said.

“What matters is hospitalisations, ICU, people on ventilators and severe illness.”

Tasmania confirmed a fourth case after reopening its border to fully vaccinated travellers on Wednesday.

With cases leaking into the island state and Queensland, Western Australia is tightening its border to both.

From Monday, it will reintroduce a hard border to Queensland and force visitors from Tasmania to enter 14 days’ quarantine.