The ACT has recorded daily COVID-19 positive cases over 500 for the third consecutive day with 690 new COVID-19 cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Wednesday. This comes after a jump in cases to 1053 recorded in the previous reporting period.
The territory's four-day streak with no one in intensive care also ended, with Thursday's report saying two people were in the unit. Neither of them were being ventilated. There were 39 people in hospital with COVID-19 as of 8pm Wednesday, compared with 40 people in the previous day's report.
The new cases reported on Thursday brought the total number of active cases in the ACT to 3858, down from the 4027 reported on Wednesday.
The new cases were diagnosed from 306 rapid tests and 384 PCR tests. The territory's death toll remains at 34.
A total of 68.5 per cent of people have received their booster, and 78.6 per cent of children aged five to 11 are vaccinated with a single dose. The number of ACT residents aged 12 and over who are double vaccinated remains at 98.6 per cent.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith has revealed there was an agreement that she would handle media at the peak of the Omicron outbreak as the chief health officer's workload was stretched due to staff shortages.
Over summer, at the peak of Canberra's Omicron outbreak, Dr Coleman only appeared at two press conferences, on December 23 and January 5, while chief health officers from Victoria, Queensland and NSW made, in some cases, dozens of appearances.
"Coming into the December period we had come out of a very significant response to the Delta wave, and no one knew that Omicron was coming," Ms Stephen-Smith said.
"A lot of people were planning to take very well-deserved leave and breaks and spend time with their families, including people who support the chief health officer.
"There was a lot of work that was going on in the background, not particularly visible to the public."
- For available appointments, call the ACT COVID-19 vaccination booking line on (02) 5124 7700.
Around Australia
NSW has recorded 11,338 cases of COVID-19 in a day and nine more people have died from the virus as people who are isolating because of infection are advised to follow flood evacuation orders.
Around half-a-million people in NSW are subject to an evacuation order or warning as the state grapples with an unprecedented flood crisis.
NSW Health advises COVID-19 positive people at flood evacuation centres to notify staff, wear a mask and physically distance from others.
There are 1035 COVID patients in hospital, 43 of them in intensive care.
One of the seven men and two women who died from the virus on Wednesday was aged in their 30s.
A person in their 40s also died, as did two people in their 50s, one person in their 60s, two people in their 70s, one person in their 80s and one person in their 90s.
NSW Health reports 54.8 per cent of people have received their booster shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, 79 per cent of people aged 12-15 have had two doses, and 47.6 per cent of children aged 5-11 have had one jab.
Victoria has reported 7093 new COVID-19 infections and another 23 deaths, with more than 41,000 active cases in the state.
Of the deaths, five occurred in the past two days with a further eight were in the past week, according to the health department.
Victoria's COVID-19 toll now stands at 2540.
Of the new cases on Thursday, 4861 were self-reported from rapid antigen tests and 2232 from PCR lab tests.
There are 262 Victorians in hospital with COVID-19, of whom 33 are in intensive care and five on ventilation.
Some 59.8 per cent of Victorian adults have received three vaccine doses.
