omicron: Australia records first Omicron death, authorities stick to reopening plan

Australia on Monday reported its first confirmed loss of life from the brand new Omicron variant of COVID-19 amid one other surge in day by day infections, however the authorities shunned imposing new restrictions saying hospitalisation charges remained low.

The loss of life, a person in his 80s with underlying well being situations, marked a grim milestone for the nation which has needed to pause some elements of a staged reopening after practically two years of stop-start lockdowns, because of the contemporary outbreak.

Omicron, which well being consultants say seems extra contagious however much less virulent than earlier strains, started to unfold within the nation simply because it lifted restrictions on most home borders and allowed Australians to return from abroad with out quarantine, driving case numbers to the very best of the pandemic.

The authorities gave no extra particulars in regards to the Omicron loss of life, besides to say that the person caught the virus at an aged care facility and died in a Sydney hospital.

“This was the primary recognized loss of life in New South Wales (state) linked to the Omicron variant of concern,” mentioned NSW Well being epidemiologist Christine Selvey in a video launched by the federal government.

The person was amongst six COVID-19 deaths reported in Australia yesterday, all in essentially the most populous states of NSW and Victoria, that are house to greater than half the nation’s 25 million inhabitants.

NSW, Victoria and Queensland states reported a mixed 9,107 new instances on Monday, placing the nation on observe for an additional peak in new infections. The 5 different states and territories had been but to report day by day case numbers.

“Though we’re seeing elevated case numbers… we’re not seeing the impacts on our hospital system,” mentioned Annastacia Palaszczuk, premier of Queensland which reported 784 new instances with 4 folks in hospital.

With stories of six-hour wait instances for COVID testing for folks hoping to fulfill necessities for interstate vacation journey, Palaszczuk defended the tourism-friendly state for obligatory testing, saying “everybody knew after they booked a ticket that in the event that they needed to come back right here they must do a PCR check”.

“We have to make it possible for we’re defending (Queenslanders),” she mentioned.

Australian authorities have to this point resisted a return to lockdown within the face of surging case numbers however have reinstated some restrictions. On Monday, NSW once more made it obligatory to examine into public venues with QR codes, whereas many states have introduced again obligatory mask-wearing in indoor public locations.