Here's a quick wrap of the COVID-19 news and case numbers from each Australian jurisdiction for the past week, as reported on Friday, April 28, 2023.
The states and territories are now reporting their COVID-19 statistics weekly instead of through the daily updates that were provided from the early days of the pandemic.
This page is updated throughout the day. If you don't see your state or territory, check back later.
- New South Wales
- Victoria
- Queensland
- Western Australia
- South Australia
- Tasmania
- Australian Capital Territory
- Northern Territory
News you may have missed
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The Burnet Institute is defending a COVID-19 mask mandate study published by its researchers, despite a scientific journal marking it with a notice of concern after a review identified multiple "weaknesses" in its findings. Read the full story here.
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Byron McIntosh first began to wonder if something was wrong with him when no amount of water would quench his insatiable thirst. A subsequent diabetes diagnosis raised questions about a link to COVID-19. Read the full story here.
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A recently released study has been circulating online, which some are using to claim is proof masks are harmful to humans. What do the experts say? Read the full story here.
Share your story
How are you dealing with the "new normal" as Australia transitions to living with COVID-19? We want to hear from you.
New South Wales
The state has recorded 11,745 new COVID-19 cases, down slightly from 12,393 cases last week.
There are 1,285 people in hospital, up from 1,139 last week, and 36 people are in intensive care.
There were 35 deaths announced on Friday.
Victoria
There have been another 6,255 COVID-19 cases, up from 6,052 cases last week.
There are 310 cases in hospital, up from 297 last week, while 17 people are in ICU.
There were 42 deaths announced on Friday.
Queensland
Queensland has recorded 3,561 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, down from 4,060 cases last week.
There are 287 people in hospital with the virus, two of whom are in intensive care.
The state has recorded an additional 16 deaths this week.
Western Australia
There have been 3,573 new COVID-19 cases in Western Australia this week, up from 3,133 last week.
There were 187 people in hospital with COVID-19 as of 4pm on Thursday, with eight in ICU.
This week's report includes five deaths dating back to March 19 which were reported to WA Health in the past week.
South Australia
There have been 2,674 new COVID-19 cases in South Australia this week, up from 2,509 last week.
The state has recorded seven deaths.
Tasmania
Tasmania has recorded 758 new cases of COVID-19 in the past week, down from 944 new cases a week ago.
There were 26 new admissions to hospitals in the past seven days, including one new admission to the ICU.
There have been four new deaths reported.
Australian Capital Territory
The ACT has recorded 629 new cases of COVID-19, up from 581 cases last week.
There are 37 people in hospital, including four in ICU.
There have been two deaths this week.
Northern Territory
There have been 178 new cases recorded in the Northern Territory, down from 205 last week.
There are 18 people in hospital.
Two additional deaths have been reported.
One thing to know: New COVID-19 subvariant on the rise in Australia
There's a new COVID-19 subvariant of Omicron circulating among us.
XBB.1.16 was first detected in NSW in February this year, with infections slowly rising.
The World Health Organization (WHO) assessed this strain as "low risk" on a global scale, compared with others currently in circulation.
However, the strain was designated a variant of interest by WHO earlier this month, as cases surged in India.
WHO did say it was a strain to watch, designating XBB.1.16 as a variant of interest on April 17.
$50m boost for long COVID research as parliamentary inquiry hands down report
An extra $50 million in government funding has been pledged towards research on long COVID.
Health Minister Mark Butler said the research would help better inform policy decisions and improve health outcomes for patients.
The Department of Health and Aged Care has been tasked with developing a national plan to respond to long COVID, he said.
Analysis: This COVID season, your RAT test has something new to offer — a combo test
If you have respiratory symptoms as winter and flu season approaches, do you know if it is COVID or the flu? Or something else entirely?
Now, there are a range of home tests that can distinguish between the flu and COVID-19 with one swab. They use technology you might be used to. They're rapid antigen tests or RATs.
Here's what you need to know about the tests, why they might be useful, and what they don't tell us.
