Australia swamped by Omicron surge as pressure grows on hospitals
SYDNEY: Australia's COVID-19 infections hovered near-record
levels on Tuesday (Jan 11) as a surge of infections caused by the Omicron
variant put a strain on hospitals already stretched by staff isolating after
being exposed to the virus.
After successfully containing the coronavirus for most of
the pandemic, Australia has been swamped by the rapid spread of the Omicron
variant after authorities eased mitigation measures as high vaccination rates
were reached.
Australia has reported about 1.1 million cases since the
pandemic began, with more than half of those in the last two weeks, including
nearly 86,000 cases on Tuesday, with two states due to report later.
"There is significant pressure in our health
system," the premier of Victoria state, Daniel Andrews, told a media
briefing, adding about 4,000 hospital and 400 ambulance staff in the state were
isolated due to virus protocols.
Ambulance services in Victoria were forced to declare a code
red - when there are more call requests than ambulances available - for several
hours on Monday night, ambulance union official Olga Bartasek told broadcaster
ABC.
There are more people in hospitals in Victoria and New South
Wales, home to more than half of Australia's 25 million people and the
worst-affected states by the virus, than at any time during the pandemic.
In all, about 4,000 people are in hospital with COVID-19 as
of Tuesday, nearly double from a week ago. More than 92 percent of the
population over the age of 16 have had a double dose of vaccine and a booster program
is picking up pace.
The number of patients in intensive care and the number of
deaths are creeping up, with 25 new fatalities registered on Tuesday, with data
from some states still not in.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison, facing pressure for his
handling of the Omicron wave in an election year, has vowed to "push
through" the outbreak and plans to ease isolation rules for asymptomatic
workers in key sectors amid reports of bare supermarket shelves.
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