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Australia COVID numbers hit a peak as Omicron outbreak strains domestic politics

Middle East

28-12-2021 | 04:32

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Australia COVID numbers hit a peak as Omicron outbreak strains domestic politics

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Australia recorded another record surge in COVID-19 infections on Tuesday (December 28) as an outbreak of the highly infectious Omicron variant disrupted reopening of the economy, while state leaders argued over domestic border controls.

The country reported 11,264 new cases of the coronavirus in the previous day, according to a Reuters calculation of state figures, once again surpassing its peak of a day earlier, as it grapples with a planned reopening while the new variant rages.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said a quarter of clinical tests in his state were "tourism tests" for asymptomatic people, bringing huge pressure of the health system, long testing queues and wait times of several days for results.

He called on Queensland to shift from mandatory clinical tests at the point of origin to on-the-spot rapid antigen testing for people travelling there immediately, rather than after January 1 as planned, but the Queensland authorities said the policy was working.

REUTERS

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