- NSW has set a new national COVID-19 case record after recording 92,264 new cases, as it includes positive rapid antigen test (RAT) results in the figures for the first time.
- Of the total cases reported in NSW, 30,877 tested positive on a PCR, while 61,387 tested positive on a RAT.
- The reporting system for positive RAT results in NSW went live on Wednesday morning and while the requirement only became mandatory on the day, residents were asked to add tests taken since the start of the year.
- NSW also marked its deadliest day of the pandemic so far after 22 people with the virus lost their lives.
- Victoria recorded 37,169 new cases and 25 deaths, while there are 953 patients in the state's hospitals, including 111 in intensive care of which 29 require ventilators.
- New rules requiring hospitality and entertainment venues to close indoor dance floors came into effect in Victoria on Thursday.
- A plan on how students can safely return to schools amid rising cases will be looked at by leaders when the national cabinet meets on Thursday.
- Advocacy groups have urged the federal government to suspend mutual obligations for job seekers, saying the requirements increase the risk of community members contracting COVID-19.
- The Omicron variant is dangerous, especially for those who have not been vaccinated against the disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.
- WHO insisted there should be no surrender to the variant, dismissing the notion that it could be a welcome conduit to ending the pandemic.
A number of states have set up RAT registration forms.
COVID-19 Stats:
New South Wales recorded 92,264 cases and a further 22 deaths. Of these cases, 30,877 tested positive on a PCR, while 61,387 tested positive on a RAT.
Victoria recorded 37,169 new cases and 25 deaths. Of these, 16,843 were from a RAT and 20,326 from PCR tests.
Queensland recorded 14,914 new cases and six deaths, and there were 556 people in hospital with the virus, 26 in ICU, 10 ventilated.
Tasmania recorded 1,100 cases, while the Northern Territory had 550.
The ACT recorded 1,020 cases from PCR testing.
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There are changes to the COVID-19 Disaster Payment once states reach 70 and 80 per cent fully vaccinated:
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