The month of January has seen the most COVID-19 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic in Australia, with the toll mainly affecting aged care residents.
According to the latest reports, more than 400 aged care residents have passed since 1 January after contracting COVID-19.
Aged and Community Services Australia chief executive Paul Sadler called the situation was a “national emergency” urging a national cabinet to do everything it could “to prevent COVID deaths in aged care facilities”, including accelerating the rollout of COVID-19 vaccine booster shots.
While the interval between second shots and booster doses is now three months, the original interval when the booster rollout began late last year was six months. That meant that some aged care residents were not eligible until recently for a booster dose.
Health authorities have stressed the importance of boosters in combating the highly transmissible Omicron strain of the virus, which began circulating in the community at the same time that restrictions were eased in many states.
At the same time, Prime Minister Scott Morrison expressed his support to offer bonuses to aged care workers who have had to work under extremely stressful circumstances to ensure aged care residents are safe.
Meanwhile, the NSW government has announced the return of non-urgent elective surgery on 7 February, as case numbers appear to drop.
This would mean that surgeries requiring an overnight stay will return to 75 per cent capacity in private hospitals and public hospitals will gradually build up to this level.
“As Health Minster, I’m sorry some people have had to have their surgery delayed but it was in your interests, it was in the interests of the entire community that we made sure we had the space in our hospitals,” Mr Hazzard said, adding that “each hospital will make the decision as to when they are ready, [and] if the numbers stay as they are, that will be in the very near future”.
Unfortunately, the state recorded 30 COVID-19 deaths and 12,818 new cases. Currently, there are now 2,749 people with the virus in hospital out of whom 183 are in ICU and 70 require ventilation.
Victoria has recorded 34 more COVID-19 deaths, and 851 hospitalisations with 106 in intensive care units, and 30 on a ventilator.
There were 11,311 new cases reported in the last 24 hours.
Health Minister Martin Foley said 13 of the reported deaths occurred over the past two days, while the rest occurred previously and were reported yesterday.
South Australia has recorded three COVID-linked deaths in the most recent reporting period, and 1,266 new cases of the virus. There are 273 people in hospital with 22 patients in the ICU, and five people are on ventilators.
Western Australia has recorded 13 new local cases of COVID-19 overnight as it prepares to relax its strict border policy.
Northern Territory infections have reached 970 while Small Business Minister Paul Kirby has also tested positive for COVID-19.
Mr Kirby said he would be “bunkering down at home this week” after receiving the positive rapid antigen test result.
“I’m feeling well at present, and my family is doing a great job looking after me,” he posted on Facebook.
There are 132 people in hospital with the virus including four in intensive care.
Tasmania has recorded 699 new COVID-19 cases, up from 504 yesterday.
The Department of Health said 16 people were in hospital but only eight were there specifically for COVID treatment.
