Wave of Covid tipped to peak
CHO hopeful of healthy Christmas
AUSTRALIA has recorded more than 100,000 Covid cases in the past week, as parts of the country begin to see a plateau.
Cases are now being recorded weekly, with the latest data released on December 2 stating 100,419 cases were confirmed nationally.
The data shows cases have been climbing since early October, with official modelling predicting NSW and Victoria will reach their peak around early December.
NSW remains the state to record highest number of cases in a week, with 37,796 new cases compared to the 31,531 reported last week.
The state has reported 32 more Covid-related deaths during the recording period.
There are 1481 people still being treated in hospital, while 38 people with Covid-19 are in intensive care.
Meanwhile, Victoria has reported 26,971 new cases in seven days, up from 22,281 last
week. The state’s seven-day rolling average for hospitalisation was 550, while 21 cases were admitted to intensive care. There was also 54 deaths reported in the past seven days, down from 68 last week.
South Australia recorded a slight increase with 9684 new cases of Covid-19, up from 9000 last week.
Chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier said cases were beginning to plateau but wouldn’t specify when a peak would be reached.
“We are getting towards the peak,” Professor Spurrier said.
“Until we see those case numbers come down I can’t officially tell you we’re at the peak, but we’re certainly at that top end plateau.
“We are very hopeful that we will be on the other side of that wave well before Christmas, so we can all enjoy a healthy Christmas.”
The state has reported 12 deaths in the past week.
There are 128 patients in hospital with Covid-19, including eight in intensive care.
Meanwhile, Queensland’s cases rose from 10,082 to 11,217 new cases in one week, with the state recording 15 deaths during the latest reporting period. The Northern Territory recorded another big spike, with 750 new cases reported in the past week, up from 329 the previous week. There are 25 people in hospital in the top end, 10 more than last week. There were two new deaths.
The ACT has reported 2239 new cases this week, up from 1757 last week. There are 33 active cases in hospital and one death was reported this week. WA has reported 11,762 new cases, up from 10,520 last week.