SYDNEY: Australia recorded another surge of COVID-19 deaths on Monday (Jan 24) as an outbreak of the highly contagious Omicron variant peaked, and authorities warned numbers could rise further when schools return from end-of-year holidays next week.
Australia is trying to strike a balance between reopening after two years of movement restrictions and coping with the highest numbers of deaths and cases of the pandemic.
Authorities say a roll-out of a vaccine booster will reduce deaths, and point to a stabilisation in hospitalisation numbers as a sign the flare-up has reached its worst.
The country on Monday reported 56 deaths, most of them in its three most populous states – New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland – slightly down from the previous day’s count of 58 but still among the highest of the pandemic.
The total number of new cases, 37,754, was well below peaks three times that amount earlier this month, although four other states and territories were yet to report figures.
“Our assessment indicates that the spread of COVID virus is slowing, our situation is stabilising and while we expect to see an uptick in transmissions associated with schools going back this could be mitigated by the actions of you as individuals,” NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant told a news conference.
“Getting those boosters will help us,” she added.
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