JAKARTA - Australia's COVID-19 infections were near record levels on Tuesday, as a spike in cases caused by the Omicron variant weighed on hospitals already stretched by staff isolating after exposure to the virus.
Having successfully contained the coronavirus for most of the pandemic, Australia has experienced a rapid spread of the Omicron variant after the authorities relaxed mitigation measures, as high vaccination rates were achieved.
Australia has reported about 1.1 million cases since the pandemic began, with more than half in the past two weeks, including nearly 86.000 cases on Tuesday, with two states due to report later.
"There is significant stress in our health system," Victoria State Prime Minister Daniel Andrews told a news briefing, adding that some 4.000 hospitals and 400 ambulance staff in the state were isolated due to virus protocols.
Ambulance services in Victoria were forced to declare code red, when there were more calls to call than ambulances available, for several hours on Monday evening, ambulance union official Olga Bartasek told broadcaster ABC.
There are more people in hospital in Victoria and New South Wales, home to more than half of Australia's 25 million people and the state hardest hit by the virus, than at any time during the pandemic.
In all, about 4.000 people were hospitalized 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 received multiple doses of the vaccine and booster programs are increasing.
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Meanwhile, the number of patients in intensive care and the death toll is steadily increasing, with 25 new deaths registered on Tuesday, with data from several states still not coming in.
To note, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, facing pressure to tackle a wave of Omicron variants in an election year, has pledged to contain the outbreak and plans to relax isolation rules for asymptomatic workers in key sectors, amid reports of empty supermarket shelves.
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