Traffic marshalls direct cars at a drive-through Covid-19 testing clinic at Bondi Beach in Sydney on January 8. Photo / AP
Traffic marshalls direct cars at a drive-through Covid-19 testing clinic at Bondi Beach in Sydney on January 8. Photo / AP
Australia has reported 74 Covid-19 deaths today, the highest figure since the pandemic started.
New South Wales recorded 29,830 new Covid-19 cases and 36 more deaths of people with the virus on Tuesday.
There are 2850 people in hospital, up from 2776 on Monday, of whom 209 are in intensivecare, up from 203.
A record 36 people died. It surpassed the previous record of 29 deaths, reported on Friday. NSW recorded 20 fatalities on both Saturday and Sunday, and 17 deaths on Monday.
The latest fatality figure brings the total number of NSW Covid-19 deaths to 919.
Victoria recorded 20,180 new Covid cases and 22 deaths.
Queensland recorded 16 more deaths from Covid-19 - the highest daily death toll for the state since the start of the pandemic.
Cases drop as testing falls off in NSW
Tuesday's new infections are marginally up after Monday's fell to 29,504 from Sunday's 34,660 new cases, a drop from 48,768 infections on Saturday and more than 63,000 on Friday.
Of the new cases on Tuesday, 13,763 were detected on rapid antigen tests (RATs) and 16,067 were found through PCR testing.
Health officials said 11,564 of the positive RAT results were from the previous seven days.
As of Tuesday, 95.2 per cent people in NSW aged over 16 have had one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, 93.8 per cent have had two and 26.5 per cent have received a booster.
Among children aged 12 to 15, 82.1 per cent have received their first dose of a vaccine, while 78.3 per cent have had two doses.
Of children aged five to 11, 13.9 per cent have had one dose of the vaccine since the age group became eligible on January 10.
NSW Treasurer Matt Kean said on Monday the Omicron variant outbreak was creating both a health and economic crisis, but there was "light at the end of the tunnel".
Ceri Ittensohn receives a Covid-19 vaccine at Sydney Road Family Medical Practice on January 10. Photo / Getty Images
"We've seen from international experience and based on the modelling that NSW Health have provided us that over the next four to six weeks, there will be a significant decrease in cases across the community," he said.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said hospitals were under significant strain but the state needed to "push through" the remainder of the current wave.
Perrottet and Health Minister Brad Hazzard are due to speak to the media at 10am on Tuesday, with chief health officer Kerry Chant and NSW Health deputy secretary Susan Pearce.
