7 Feb 2022

New South Wales records 14 Covid-19 deaths, Victoria records seven deaths

2:00 pm on 7 February 2022

New South Wales has recorded a significant drop in the number of people being treated for Covid-19 in the state's hospitals.

A health worker conducts a PCR test at St Vincent's Bondi Beach Covid-19 drive through testing clinic, Sydney, 22 December 2021.

Photo: AFP or licensors

There are 2099 people with the virus in hospital, down from 2321 patients in the previous reporting period.

Also dropping is the number of people being treated in intensive care with 137 patients currently in ICU, which is 10 less than the previous day.

The state also recorded 14 more Covid-19 deaths, compared to 28 deaths reported in the previous 24-hour reporting period.

There were 7437 new cases recorded in the reporting period, of which 3917 came from positive rapid antigen tests (RATs) and 3520 were from PCR swabs.

Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant on Sunday said data suggested a decline in the virus' circulation in the community.

"Overall, it is pleasing when we look at a variety of different sources of information," she said.

"It gives us a sense that we are slowing the spread and we are seeing a decline in transmission in the community."

Victoria records seven deaths

Victoria has recorded another seven Covid-19 deaths.

The number of people in hospital after contracting the virus sits at 638, down from 652 a day earlier.

Of those patients, 72 are in intensive care units, with 26 people on ventilators.

The state reported 8275 new infections 2308 from PCR results and 5967 from rapid antigen tests.

It takes the number of officially reported active infections to 59,801, down from 60,917 on Sunday.

About 45 percent of the state's adult population has now had a third dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

Elective surgery resumes in Victoria today in a limited capacity after being suspended since early January.

The Health Department said procedures will be limited to day surgery at private hospitals and day procedure centres at up to 50 percent of normal levels.

Elective surgeries have been cleared to resume because the seven-day average for Covid-19 hospitalisations in Victoria has dropped from 1000 to under 800.

19 deaths in Queensland

Queensland has recorded 19 Covid-19 deaths and 4701 new cases in the latest reporting period.

Of the state's deaths, 10 were in aged care facilities, nine of them were unvaccinated and only one had received a booster.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the state was "coming down off the peak" with 663 cases now in public hospitals and 43 in ICU.

"So the decision to put off schools for those two weeks was the right decision because we're coming down off the peak. Kids are returning to school. People are coming back to work," she said.

Palaszczuk also announced the use of the Check-in app was no longer required, but people would still be required to show their vaccination status to enter certain venues.

- ABC

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