New South Wales has recorded 6,288 new COVID-19 infections and zero deaths as the state again broke Australia’s record for daily coronavirus cases amid concern over the spread of the Omicron variant.
Saturday’s figure is a jump on the 5,612 infections reported on Friday, when one death was recorded.
NSW reached another vaccine milestone on Saturday, with 95 per cent of people aged 16 and over having received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Chief Medical Officer Kerry Chant’s long held goal for the state has been to reach 95 per cent vaccine coverage in order to protect the most vulnerable.
Premier Dominic Perrottet previously said NSW would be “world leading” if the 95 per cent target was met and experts said it would be a “real achievement” as it would mean convincing the vaccine hesitant to roll up their sleeves
There are 2,108 new COVID-19 cases in Victoria and six people have died as the state marks its second Christmas during the pandemic.
The new infections were found from 83,456 test results processed on Thursday and all cases except one were locally acquired.
There were 61 new confirmed cases of the Omicron variant, bringing the total in the state to 159.
There are 361 patients in Victorian hospitals with COVID-19, including 71 active cases in intensive care and 42 patients on a ventilator.
The health department said a further 41 people were in intensive care, but their infections had cleared.
There are 17,599 active cases of the virus in Victoria, and 669 people have died during the current outbreak.
The 10 local government areas with the highest number of new cases are Wyndham, Casey, Brimbank, Whittlesea, Hume, Glen Eira, Melbourne, Moreland, Melton and Port Phillip.
