Australia Records First Death From Omicron Variant, Authorities Still Plan To Continue Reopening

Illustration of a COVID-19 vaccination center in Australia. (Wikimedia Commons/Kgbo)

JAKARTA - Australia reported its first confirmed death from the Omicron variant of the coronavirus Monday, amid another spike in daily infections, but authorities refrained from imposing new restrictions, saying hospitalization rates remained low.

The death of a man in his 80s with an underlying health condition marks a grim milestone for a country that has had to halt parts of a gradual reopening after nearly two years of lockdown due to a new outbreak.

The Omicron variant, which health experts say appears more contagious but less virulent than previous strains, began spreading in the country just as the country lifted restrictions on most domestic borders and allowed Australians to return from overseas without quarantine, pushing the highest number of cases to a pandemic.

Authorities did not provide additional details about the deaths from this Omicron variant, except to say the man contracted the virus in an elderly care facility and died in a Sydney hospital.

"This is the first known death in New South Wales (NSW) associated with the Omicron variant of concern," NSW Health epidemiologist Christine Selvey said in a video released by the government.

The man was among six deaths from COVID-19 reported in Australia the previous day, all in the most populous State of NSW and Victoria, which is home to more than half of the country's 25 million people.

The states of NSW, Victoria, and Queensland reported a combined 9.107 new cases on Monday, putting the country on track for another peak in new infections. Meanwhile, five other states and territories have yet to report daily number of cases.

"Although we are seeing an increase in the number of cases, we are not seeing an impact on our hospital system," said Annastacia Palaszczuk, Queensland Prime Minister who reported 784 new cases with four in hospital.

With reports of a six-hour waiting time for COVID testing for people hoping to qualify for interstate vacation travel, Palaszczuk defended the tourism-friendly state for mandatory testing, saying "everyone knows when they book a ticket that if they want to come here, they have to do a PCR test".

"We need to make sure that we protect (Queenslanders)," he said.

To note, Australian authorities have so far resisted a return to lockdown in the face of a spike in the number of cases but have re-imposed some restrictions.

On Monday, NSW again made it mandatory to check into public places with a QR code, while many states have reinstated the mandatory wearing of masks in indoor public places.