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, December 9, 2022.
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 story will be updated throughout the day, so if you do not see your state or territory check back later.
You can jump to the COVID-19 information you want to read by clicking below.
- New South Wales
- Victoria
- Queensland
- Northern Territory
- Australian Capital Territory
- Tasmania
- Western Australia
- South Australia
News you may have missed
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This week's national cabinet meeting was postponed after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese tested positive for COVID-19 for a second time this year
-
Beijing prepares for "life again" as lockdowns lift across China
- An Australian professor will lead New Zealand's inquiry into its COVID-19 response
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New South Wales
The state has recorded 48 more COVID-19 deaths, up from 32 last week.
There are 40,194 new cases, an increase from 37,796 last week.
There are 1,526 people with COVID-19 in hospital, of whom 40 are in intensive care.
Victoria
Victoria has reported 27,790 new cases in seven days, up from 26,971 last week.
Unlike other states, Victoria records its hospitalisations and intensive-care admissions with a seven-day rolling daily average.
The state averaged 682 daily hospitalisations and 28 daily intensive care admissions.
There were also 85 deaths reported in the past seven days, up from 54 last week. The Department of Health notes not all COVID-19 deaths occur in the week in which they are reported.
Queensland
Queensland has reported 13,632 new cases of COVID-19, up from 11,217 last week.
The state has confirmed 15 deaths in the latest reporting period, the same figure as last week.
As of December 7, there were 320 people in hospital with the virus, including eight in intensive care.
Northern Territory
The Top End has recorded 827 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, up from 750 last week.
There are 33 people hospitalised with COVID-19 in the territory, which is eight more than last week.
Two new deaths have been reported.
Australian Capital Territory
The ACT has reported 2,610 new cases this week, up from 2,239 last week.
The territory has 58 active cases in hospital, with three people in intensive care.
Five deaths were reported this week.
Tasmania
Tasmania has reported 4,030 new cases this week, up from 3,957 last week.
There are 77 people with COVID-19 in hospital, including one in intensive care.
Three new deaths have been reported.
Western Australia
Western Australia has reported 12,383 new COVID-19 cases, up from 11,762 last week.
The state said there were 216 people with COVID-19 in hospital, including seven in intensive care.
Western Australia has reported 26 deaths dating back to July 18, 2022, which were reported in the last week.
South Australia
South Australia has reported 9,986 new cases of COVID-19, up from 9,684 last week.
There are 164 patients in hospital with COVID-19, including seven in intensive care.
The state has reported 35 deaths in the past week.
The underlying causes of long COVID remain elusive — but here's the list of possibilities
It's a question that's tantalised researchers since the first reports of "long haulers" back in 2020: What causes long COVID?
What we do know is it can be incredibly debilitating for months, even years, with people frequently experiencing fatigue, brain fog and heart palpitations.
Exactly how SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID-19, triggers a swag of frustratingly persistent symptoms in some individuals is something researchers are trying to unravel.
In fact, it's likely the illness we know as "long COVID" potentially covers a bunch of different subtypes, each driven by different and perhaps multiple factors, says Chansavath Phetsouphanh, an immunologist at the University of New South Wales.
Relaxing COVID rules in China met with joy, frustration and apprehension
Beijing has begun to ease COVID-19 restrictions nationwide following recent protests across the country.
However, people's happiness at the rules finally relaxing has been mixed with frustration and some apprehension about what it may mean for the country's elderly.
One more thing: Anthony Fauci on the lessons that must be learned from the pandemic
According to Dr Fauci, one of the most important lessons from the pandemic concerns vaccine equity — making effective vaccines available worldwide, possibly preventing the emergence of dangerous variants as the virus mutated.
"The more you have the spread of virus in the community — particularly in low and middle-income countries that may not have access to vaccines the way developed nations do — that gives the virus a great opportunity to mutate enough to form a new variant," he said.
But, as Dr Fauci explains, some countries lacked the infrastructure capable of distributing vaccines.
"They said don't send any more … which seems paradoxical," he said.
"That has to do with a larger problem of the healthcare systems globally, and the lack of equity of healthcare provision globally. That is an important problem that transcends COVID."
