Australia, struggling to quell its worst wave of COVID-19, yesterday reported 1,756 infections, another record high, and officials warned that worse is yet to come, urging people to get vaccinated against the virus.
Most of the cases were in New South Wales state, which has been fighting an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 since the middle of June. The state reported 1,533 new cases and four deaths.
Neighboring Victoria state reported 190 cases, while the Australian Capital Territory reported 32 and Queensland reported one.
Photo: AFP
Daily case numbers have over the past few weeks ran about double the levels of Australia’s previous worst wave of the pandemic a year ago.
Believing this outbreak cannot be eliminated — a successful strategy used by states and territories in earlier waves — New South Wales and Victoria authorities have focused on speeding up inoculations to make the cases less virulent.
Although infections in Victoria, which is in its sixth lockdown, dropped slightly from Friday’s 208, health authorities said that the outbreak has not peaked.
“The overall trend is a slow and steady increase. That’s why vaccination is so critical, as is following the rules,” Victoria Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton told a news conference.
New South Wales, the most populous state and home to Sydney, said it expects more than 1,000 new cases per day for at least two more weeks, with hospital admissions likely to peak next month.
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