The number of patients with Covid-19 in Victorian hospitals has risen to 818, as the state records 34,808 new cases and there are 20,293 new cases in New South Wales.
Photo: AFP
There are 118 patients in intensive care in Victoria, including 28 on ventilators.
The hospitalisations now sit just below the state's all-time high of 851, after 450 patients were admitted in the past fortnight.
There are now 161,065 active cases, as the Omicron outbreak dwarfs the size of all previous Covid-19 waves in Victoria.
The death toll from the current outbreak has reached 758.
The new infections were detected from 17,190 at-home rapid antigen tests (RATs) and 17,618 laboratory-run PCR tests.
The official cases tally is less than the true number of new infections, due to an overwhelmed PCR testing network and a nationwide shortage of RATs.
About 17 percent of Victorian adults have now received three doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, as vaccinations for children aged five to 11 open up across Australia.
Vaccinations can be booked at state vaccination centres, GP clinics and pharmacies.
NSW reports highest number of deaths in single reporting period
NSW has recorded 20,293 Covid-19 cases and 18 deaths in the latest reporting period.
NSW has recorded 18 deaths and another 103 patients admitted to hospital for Covid-19 treatment.
It is the highest number of deaths recorded in a single reporting period in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic.
There were 20,293 Covid-19 cases and 2030 hospitalisations recorded in the latest reporting period.
There are 159 people in intensive care, up from 151 the previous day.
Over 84,333 Covid-19 tests were taken, making today's positivity rate about 24 percent.
The latest figures follow NSW Deputy Premier Paul Toole announcing he tested positive for Covid-19 and had minor symptoms, including a soar throat and a high temperature.
In a statement posted to social media on Sunday night, Toole said he was already in isolation after members of his family contracted the virus.
"It's been a long week in our house, with my oldest daughter getting Covid-19 at the start of the week, followed by my wife and youngest daughter, and then my son," he said.
"Today my results have come back and I have tested positive too."
On Saturday, NSW Governor Margaret Beazley and her husband had also tested positive for the virus.
The NSW government at the weekend introduced isolation exemptions for critical workers in the food logistics and manufacturing sectors as staff shortages crippled supply chains.
Photos of empty supermarket shelves have been circulating on social media - a result of Covid-19 outbreaks in distribution centres across Greater Sydney.
Staff who are asymptomatic close contacts may attend work if employers deem their absence poses a high risk of disruption to critical services.
The exemptions are similar to those in place for health workers and apply to fields including agriculture, manufacturing, transport, postal, warehousing and emergency services.
The decision was slammed as "beyond reckless" by the Transport Workers Union yesterday.
"Workers are being thrown to the wolves by a government that continues to ignore all the warnings," said the union's national secretary Michael Kaine.
"We know, even if you're asymptomatic, you can still spread the virus. Requiring potentially sick people to go to work won't make supply chains healthy."
- ABC
