Another 64 people have died with COVID-19 in Australia.
NSW recorded 27 deaths on Wednesday, while Victoria reported 18, Queensland had 12, South Australia four and the Northern Territory three.
The fatalities in NSW come as hospitalisations continue to fall, despite an increase in case numbers and deaths for the second consecutive day.
NSW recorded 10,463 new COVID-19 cases - up more than 2,000 cases from the previous day - and there were also 11 more deaths than Tuesday.
Hospitalisations have dropped by 105 to 1,478, while there were 92 people in intensive care on Wednesday - four fewer than reported by NSW Health on Tuesday.
Nearly half the population - about 49.1 per cent of people - have received a booster shot statewide.
The state government has announced Sydney's public transport services will return to a regular timetable at the end of the month when COVID-19 restrictions are expected to ease.
Elective surgery in Victoria to return
Victoria reported 8,149 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, with 5,295 detected through rapid antigen tests and 2,854 via PCR lab testing.
There are 397 people in Victorian hospitals, down 44 from Tuesday's number. Of these, 68 COVID-19 patients are in intensive care and 13 require ventilation.
Active cases are continuing to decline, dropping from 50,967 to 49,936.
It comes as all elective surgery is set to resume in Victoria by the end of the month, with the government signing off on a full restart plan as the state's Omicron wave subsides.
From Monday, public hospitals in metropolitan Melbourne will be able to perform category 2 surgery and private metro hospitals will ramp up to 75 per cent capacity for any type of elective surgery, up from 50 per cent.
Health Minister Martin Foley will then consider allowing all surgery to go ahead from 28 February.
Each hospital will also assess its own capacity based on staff availability and COVID-19 demands, with 44 still treating infected patients.
In regional Victoria, the private hospitals cap will rise from 75 per cent to 100 per cent from Monday and public hospitals will continue to carry out any elective surgery based on their individual capacity.
Victoria suspended all less urgent category two and three surgery in early January as the Omicron variant ran rampant through the community, increasing pressure on the health system.
But the state's rolling seven-day average of COVID-19 hospitalisations now sits at 457 patients, dropping from a peak of more than 1,200 patients in mid-January. Staff unavailability figures have also fallen by roughly two-thirds to 1,400 workers.
Queensland sees rise in cases among children
Queensland recorded another 12 virus deaths and 6,596 cases after 10,738 tests in the 24 hours to 6.30am on Wednesday.
There are also 432 patients being treated for COVID-19 in hospital and another 34 in intensive care.
Queensland Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said another 1,905 children have tested positive, up from 1,587 new cases the previous day.
He admitted "a bump in cases in children" since school returned last Monday, but child hospitalisations are not rising.
"The numbers are not enormous, we had larger numbers only two or three weeks ago, and we have not seen increases in hospitalisations among children," Dr Gerrard told reporters on Wednesday.
"To me, the bigger concern when children get infected is the risk to their parents and their grandparents and that's why it is so critical that anyone coming in contact with children get the booster."
The latest figures show that 92.4 per cent of eligible Queenslanders have had one dose of a vaccine, while 90.38 per cent have had two, and more than 62 per cent have had a booster.
South Australia records four COVID-19 deaths
South Australia has reported four more coronavirus-related deaths along with 1,624 new infections.
SA Health said two women in their 80s, a man his 60s and another man in his 80s who had all tested positive for COVID-19 had passed away.
The deaths take the state's toll since the start of the pandemic to 162.
There are 227 people in hospital with the virus, including 19 people in intensive care, where five people are on a ventilator.
Active infections across the state stand at 13,822.
Northern Territory posts three COVID-19 deaths
The Northern Territory has reported three more coronavirus-related deaths along with 1,050 new infections.
Officials said two women in their 40s died in the Alice Springs Hospital, one on 4 February and one on 11 February.
A woman in her 70s also died in the Katherine Hospital on 13 February.
All three had underlying health conditions.
Their deaths take the toll in the Territory since the start of the pandemic to 13.
Among the new infections on Wednesday, 956 were detected through rapid antigen tests. There are 143 people in hospital with COVID-19, including one in intensive care. Active infections across the Territory stand at 7104.
What else is happening around the country?
Meanwhile, Western Australia has recorded 115 new local Omicron cases as the virus spreads to a Perth prison and an aged care outbreak grows.
Wednesday's tally marks the first time WA has reached triple figures for locally-acquired COVID-19 infections. The state had recorded just 14 local cases a week earlier.
There were also 13 new travel-related infections but WA Health did not indicate how many new cases had been infectious while in the community.
The department is working with Acacia Prison after a person tested positive at the medium-security facility northeast of Perth.
A further two residents at Juniper's Cygnet residential aged care home in Bentley have tested positive. Ten residents and four staff members have so far been infected.
Juniper chief executive Chris Hall said the Australian Defence Force was assisting with logistics.
"We know this is a difficult time for residents and their families. We are doing all that we can to keep them informed and assist families and loved ones to stay connected with residents through the use of technology," Mr Hall said.
Ten residents and two staff have tested positive at Brightwater Care Group's The Cove home in Mandurah, while one staff member was infected at the nearby Coolibah Care facility.
The Australian Capital Territory has recorded 594 new cases of COVID-19 - the highest number of daily cases reported in the national capital for nearly a month.
Of the new cases detected, 329 came from PCR tests while 265 were from positive rapid antigen tests.
Hospitalisations from COVID-19 have also declined in the past 24 hours, down from 49 to 48.
The number of patients being treated in intensive care for the virus has also decreased from four to three, while there are still two patients on a ventilator.
Vaccination rates have risen to 62.2 per cent of those 16 and over having received a booster dose, while 76.6 per cent of five to 11-year-olds have received their first dose.
Wednesday also marked the easing of visitor restrictions in ACT health facilities. Patients will now be allowed to have two visitors per day, but only one can visit at a time.
Visitors were barred from hospitals for several weeks following the spike in Omicron cases in Canberra.
In Tasmania, the number of new cases has risen for a third day in a row, with the island state reporting 625 infections.
Thirteen people with COVID-19 are in hospital with eight of those being treated specifically for the virus, the state health department says.
Two cases are being cared for in intensive care, an increase from one on Tuesday.
There are 3,116 documented active cases statewide, a marginal increase from 3,033 from 24 hours earlier.
There were 513 new cases on Tuesday, 408 on Monday and 371 on Sunday.
