New infections slow in Australia

New Australian Covid-19 cases dipped yesterday as testing slowed over a holiday weekend, but remained well over 30,000 and hospitalisations rose further in New South Wales as concerns grow about potential strains on the national health system.

Newly diagnosed cases in NSW, the most populous state, dropped to 18,278 from 22,577 the day before as the number of tests conducted on New Year’s Day dropped by a quarter, health department figures showed.

But hospitalisations, which authorities have signalled is a figure they are more closely monitoring than total case numbers as they shift towards living with the virus, jumped by 18% to 1,066. In Victoria, daily case numbers remained above 7,000 and Queensland reported a record 3,587 new cases.