Many frontline workers in hospitals are also sick or in isolation, worsening the healthcare crisis

The number of Australians admitted to hospitals with COVID-19 hit a record of about 5,450 on Monday, official data showed, as the spread of highly contagious new Omicron sub-variants strains the healthcare system nationwide.
The figure has grown since late June, as the BA.4 and BA.5 strains became dominant since they can evade immune protection, whether from vaccination or prior infection, while some experts say the latter can be as infectious as measles.
The number of those in hospitals is the highest since the emergence of the coronavirus, exceeding January's high of 5,390 during the first wave of Omicron infections. Daily death tolls have also risen, topping 100 on Saturday for the first time.
More than 1,000 retirement homes have suffered outbreaks, the government said, as the elderly are largely affected.
With several aged care centres battling a shortage of staff, the support of defence personnel in such facilities is to be extended until the end of September, Defence Minister Richard Marles said.
"It is an extreme measure and it's right to describe it as that," he told ABC television. "Given the number of outbreaks that we've got right now, this is the right thing to do."
Many frontline workers in hospitals are also sick or in isolation, worsening the healthcare crisis.
During a harsh winter with both COVID-19 and the flu virus circulating, authorities have recommended the use of masks indoors and urgent booster doses of vaccine, while telling businesses to allow work from home.
Australia, one of the countries most heavily vaccinated against COVID-19, has given two doses to about 95% of those older than 16, although just about 71% have had booster shots.
Still, its tally of about 9.13 million infections and 11,181 deaths was lower than many developed economies.
SOURCE: REUTERS

Google to invest $15bn in India
- 8 hours ago

Here’s how Apple is locking down iPhones to comply with Texas’ age verification law
- 9 hours ago

Apple’s executive reshuffling isn’t over
- 9 hours ago

We’re all about to be in wearable hell
- 9 hours ago

Abhishek Bachchan first time wins Best Actor Filmfare Award in 25-year career
- 7 hours ago

Azad Kashmir Information Minister Mazhar Saeed resigns
- 7 hours ago

Can America recover from Trump? Here’s what new data says.
- 7 hours ago

You can still snag LG’s C4 OLED TV at half the price
- 9 hours ago

Establishing Palestine with pre-1967 borders is bedrock of Pakistan's Middle East policy: PM
- 8 hours ago

Punjab govt's important decision regarding toll plazas for public convenience
- 8 hours ago

OpenAI allegedly sent police to an AI regulation advocate’s door
- 9 hours ago

Once a club on the rise, Liverpool in desperate need of a spark under Gareth Taylor
- 6 hours ago