NSW has recorded 3763 Covid-19 cases and two deaths ahead of the national cabinet meeting convening to address the rise in infection numbers.
A woman wearing a mask walks past an image of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Photo: AFP
It is the highest number of daily Covid-19 infections recorded in any Australian jurisdiction.
Hospitalisations for Covid have risen to 302, up from 284 in the previous reporting period.
There are 40 patients in ICU, the highest level it's been at since 11 November.
Yesterday, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard revealed close to 1,400 healthcare workers were furloughed due to Covid-19.
He reiterated his calls for people to get a vaccine booster shot, calling it a Christmas gift "to yourself and a gift to the community".
Hazzard is expected to argue for eligibility for booster shots to be brought forward from five months to four at today's national cabinet meeting.
Despite a rise in infections numbers, health authorities are sticking to existing public health measures but are encouraging people to socially distance and to wear masks indoors.
The government has also pushed back on calls to limit large gatherings.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet yesterday acknowledged that the increase in cases would lead to more hospital admissions but said he had confidence in the state's health system.
"It will be tough, but I believe we are strong enough as we have gone through every other challenge for close to two years," Perrottet said.
"We will get through this challenge."
Amid rising case numbers, the state has been struggling with long queues at testing centres and delays for people awaiting results.
Escalating case numbers and hours-long queues for PCR tests, particularly in Sydney, has led to stores across the state selling out of rapid antigen test (RAT) packs.
RATs are home test-kits which can provide a person with a result in 15 minutes - their use has been encouraged by NSW Health.
However, high demand has caused the kits to vanish from pharmacies and supermarkets across the state.
Perrottet said he would raise the supply of RATs at the national cabinet meeting.
"There's clearly a whole range of issues right now, not unique to NSW, that are challenging, and we will work through them," he said.
Testing overwhelms several sites in Melbourne
Victoria has recorded 1,503 new local Covid-19 cases and six deaths, as record demand for testing continues to overwhelm several sites in Melbourne.
There are 394 people in hospital, with 70 people in ICU.
There are now 60 cases of Omicron in the state.
"All of those individual cases have come either out of international arrivals or their close contacts or out of the recent Newcastle cluster and their immediate contacts," Victoria's Covid-19 commander Jeroen Weimar said.
"They are isolating and my thanks to them for doing the right thing, but we expect to be more cases than the 60 or so-so far.
"We are concerned about the number of cases continuing to rise in New South Wales and Victoria, and given the high level of movement between our two states, we would expect high numbers to spread here, which comes down to all of us to please keep on top of the Covid-safe measures if you are indoors, wear a mask."
Queensland records largest daily case number
Queensland has recorded 186 new cases of Covid-19, the largest number of daily cases since the start of the pandemic.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said of the patients in hospital with Covid-19, none required treatment for the disease.
She said more than 257,000 people had crossed the border into Queensland from New South Wales, the ACT and Victoria.
More than 85 percent of Queenslanders aged 16 and over are now fully vaccinated.
- ABC
