Australia Records Highest Daily Death Toll Since The Start Of The Year For Omicron Sub Variant

Illustration of Sydney, Australia. (Wikimedia Commons/Adam.JWC)

JAKARTA - Australia has recorded one of its highest days of deaths from the coronavirus, while the number of hospitalizations is near a record as local authorities battle the spread of the Omicron subvariant.

The BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, which have the ability to evade immune protection from vaccination or previous infection, have driven the surge in new COVID-19 infections globally.

Australia reported its highest daily death toll since the first Omicron wave earlier in the year, with 89 deaths from the coronavirus on Thursday. Meanwhile yesterday, Kangaroo Country reported 90 deaths. As for new infections, it was 55.600 on Thursday, the highest since May 18.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said state leaders and federal health officials were not recommending making masks mandatory in indoor places, despite calls by some doctors to do so.

Australia avoided the high death toll seen in other countries during the first wave of the pandemic, thanks in large part to a high level of public compliance with strict social distancing restrictions.

However, there is little public desire to return to such measures to beat the latest spike in infections, while Alba's supporters have resisted pressure from some health experts to make masks mandatory.

"There's no point in having a mandate unless it's enforced," PM Albanese told ABC Radio.

He said health officials should also consider the effect of strict restrictions on mental health.

The latest Omicron wave pushed the number of people with COVID-19 in Australian hospitals near its peak in January. About 5.350 patients are hospitalized, and several states are battling record admissions.

Authorities have urged employers to let staff work from home and recommended people get booster shots right away, with only about 71 percent of the eligible population having received their boosters. About 95 percent of people over 16 have had two doses.

In total since the COVID-19 pandemic hit Australia, the country has reported around 9 million cases of COVID-19 infection and 10.968 deaths.