Australia COVID-19 update 14 December 2021

Australia wide — 2013 new Australian acquired cases, 3 new OS acquired cases, 7 deaths.

VICTORIA
• 1,189 new from 54,467 tests, all locally acquired, 6 deaths.
• 11,051 active cases, 364 in hospital, 80 active with 39 cleared in ICU, 44 ventilated.
• Deaths included people aged in their 50s, 70s, and 80s.
• The 10 LGAs with the highest number of new cases are Hume, Moreland, Casey, Whittlesea, Mornington Peninsula, Wyndham, Brimbank, Greater Dandenong, Melton and Glen Eira.
• Victoria has confirmed three new cases of the Omicron variant, all linked to a flight that arrived in Melbourne from Dubai on November 30 bringing the number of Omicron cases in the state to six.

NEW SOUTH WALES
• 804 new from 86,562 tests, 1 death.
• 5,179 active cases, 168 in hospital, 21 in ICU, 9 ventilated.
• An unvaccinated  Albury area woman in her 60s died at Goulburn Valley Health hospital in Victoria.
• Big jump in daily cases, from 536 reported yesterday to 804 today and just 179 cases two weeks ago.
• The reproduction rate of the virus in NSW is currently at its highest in four months at 1.43, meaning for every 100 new cases, another 143 people contract the virus.
• A total of 85 cases of the Omicron variant confirmed in NSW.
• New cases by Local Health Districts are 224 Hunter New England, 123 SW Sydney, 102 Western Sydney, 99 SE Sydney, 85 Sydney, 41 Northern Sydney, 28 Illawarra Shoalhaven, 26 Northern NSW, 22 Central Coast, 20 Nepean Blue Mountains, 9 Mid North Coast, 8 Murrumbidgee, 7 Western NSW, 3 Southern NSW, 7 yet to be assigned.
• Newcastle COVID outbreak could become one of 'highest transmission events' in the world this year growing to 150, after 650 people checked-in to an event there last Wednesday.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
• 12 new from 14,833 tests, 5 locally acquired, 1 interstate acquired, 6 under investigation.
• 70 active cases, 2 in hospital, 0 in ICU.
• New cases include include four women and four men aged between 20 and 60 and four children under 12, with two healthcare workers who have visited and provided care at a number of residential aged care homes in Adelaide. The five locally acquired cases are known contacts of a positive case.
• List of exposure sites.

ACT
• 4 new with 1,634 negative tests, all locally acquired.
• 60 active cases, 4 in hospital, 1 in ICU, 0 ventilated.
• List of exposure sites.

QUEENSLAND
• 4 new from 10,657 tests, 3 interstate, 1 OS Omicron case from Kenya in hotel quarantine.
• 56 active cases, 25 in hospital, 0 in ICU.
• The three interstate cases were from northern NSW and are now in home quarantine.
• Queensland had a record day for vaccinations yesterday with 62,409 doses administered.
• List of exposure sites.

NORTHERN TERRITORY
• 2 new from 2,783 tests, 1 locally acquired, 1 returned OS traveller in quarantine from Johannesburg.
• 48 active cases, 1 in hospital.
• List of exposure sites.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
• 1 new from 10,112 tests, a returned OS traveller in hotel quarantine.
• 4 active cases in hotel quarantine, 0 in hospital.

TASMANIA
• 0 new from 600 tests.
• 0 active cases, 0 in hospital.

NEW ZEALAND
• 82 new from 20,292 tests, 80 locally acquired, 2 OS travellers in managed isolation.
• 6,863 active cases, 62 in hospital, 4 in ICU.
• New local case locations are Auckland 51, Waikato 21, Bay of Plenty 7, Lakes 1.
• List of exposure sites.

WORLD
• Norway introduces new COVID restrictions and bans serving alcohol in bid to curb Omicron outbreak.
• Health authorities in northern China's port city of Tianjin have detected the first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant in the country's mainland, while the major manufacturing province of Zhejiang fights its first COVID cluster this year.
• Hong Kong has separately reported seven cases of the Omicron variant.

Sadly the average Australian will be just like British people and they won't take a blind bit of notice of this warning sadly.

Dire warning Covid cases in NSW will explode to 25,000 EVERY DAY as state's top doctor Kerry Chant urges Aussies to 'limit activities' and keep wearing masks to save Christmas 

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has warned the state could be seeing as many as 25,000 Covid-19 cases a day in January if current infection levels remain.   Cases have more than quadrupled in a week, and Wednesday's 1,360 infections is the first time in months the state has recorded more than a thousand new cases in a single day. Mr Hazzard said the reproductive rate of the virus was more than 1.5, with infection numbers close to doubling with each day.

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  NSW Covid cases: Brad Hazzard says 25,000 cases by January, Kerry Chant's Christmas warning | Daily Mail Online  

Australia COVID-19 update 15 December 2021

Australia wide — 2803 new Australian acquired cases, 11 new OS acquired cases, 4 deaths.

VICTORIA
• 1,405 new from 77,066 tests, 1400 locally acquired, 5 OS travellers, 3 deaths.
• 11,518 active cases, 365 in hospital, 84 active with 44 cleared in ICU, 46 ventilated.
• Deaths included people aged in their 70s and 90s.
• The 10 LGAs with the highest number of new cases are Hume, Casey, Moreland, Brimbank, Whittlesea, Melton, Wyndham, Glen Eira, Monash and Greater  Dandenong.
• A possible super-spreader event of the Omicron variant after a positive case visited the Sircuit Bar in Fitzroy and the Peel Hotel in Collingwood. It's estimated 410 people were at the Sircuit Bar and 320 people were at the Peel Hotel. They must isolate for seven days if they're fully vaccinated, and quarantine for 14 days if they are not.

NEW SOUTH WALES
• 1,360 new from 104,501 tests, 1 death.
• 6,233 active cases, 166 in hospital, 24 in ICU, 7 ventilated.
• Another big jump in daily cases, from 804 reported yesterday to 1,360 today, a three-month high.
• A triple-dosed woman from SW Sydney in her 90s with underlying health conditions died at the Gillawarna Village Aged Care Facility in George’s Hall where she acquired her infection. This is the third death linked to an outbreak at this facility.
• New cases by Local Health Districts are 424 Hunter New England, 195 SW Sydney, 174 SE Sydney, 162 Western Sydney, 115 Sydney, 100  Northern Sydney, 49 Central Coast, 45 Northern NSW, 26 Illawarra Shoalhaven, 19 Western NSW, 17 Nepean Blue Mountains, 8 Mid North Coast, 7 Murrumbidgee, 2 Southern NSW, 1 Far West NSW, 16 are yet to be assigned.
• A total of 110 cases of the Omicron variant have been confirmed in NSW.
• Newcastle's superspreader event sees cases double overnight with the majority tipped to be Omicron. NSW Health said more than a third of the 650 people who checked into an event at nightclub Argyle House on Wednesday, 8 December had now tested positive. There were 424 new cases in the Hunter, compared to 216 yesterday. NSW Health said it was likely the majority of new cases in the Newcastle area would be the Omicron variant.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
• 25 new from 17,296 tests, 16 locally acquired, 3 interstate acquired, 5 under investigation.
• 92 active cases, 2 in hospital, 0 in ICU, 0 ventilated.
• SA's 25 new cases number today is the highest state daily total since April 2020.
• SA has slashed quarantine timeframes for international arrivals to 7 days.
• List of exposure sites. Many new added.

NORTHERN TERRITORY
• 11 new from 2,701 tests, 5 locally acquired, 6 OS travellers in quarantine.
• 59 active cases, 1 in hospital.
• The NT recorded a total number of 11 cases overnight. Of those, five are from a recent repatriation flight from South Africa. One is an air crew member from a recent London flight, who was in quarantine and not infectious in the community. One new case was picked up in home quarantine in Darwin. The remaining four cases are linked to the Katherine cluster, bringing the total number of cases to 94, including two Timber Creek residents who tested positive at Royal Darwin Hospital.
• List of exposure sites.

ACT
• 7 new with 2,194 negative tests, all locally acquired.
• 61 active cases, 3 in hospital, 1 in ICU, 0 ventilated.
• List of exposure sites.

QUEENSLAND
• 6 new from 12,326 tests, all interstate acquired.
• 50 active cases, 28 in hospital, 0 in ICU.
• Of the six new cases in Queensland, all are fully vaccinated and five were infectious in the community. The cases are located in Goondiwindi, the Wide Bay area, Townsville, the Gold Coast and southern Brisbane.
• Queensland health authorities have overturned a decision to quarantine all passengers from two flights over Christmas, after a member of the Defence Force tested positive after being aboard. The man flew from Newcastle to Brisbane and then from Brisbane to Townsville on Monday. Now only people sitting two rows in front and behind of the positive case on flights VA1105 and VA375 will be deemed close contacts who have to quarantine for 2 weeks.
• Queensland Health has just put up a new exposure site - a flight from Melbourne to the Gold Coast on December 14. If you were on that flight and in rows 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28, you're considered a close contact.
• List of exposure sites.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
• 0 new from 4,167 tests.
• 3 active cases in hotel quarantine, 0 in hospital.
• Announced late yesterday, 3 truck drivers have tested positive upon their return to South Australia after spending time in Western Australia. New exposure sites listed.
• On Saturday, WA will reclassify NSW as an 'extreme risk' state.
• List of exposure sites.

TASMANIA
• 0 new from 966 tests.
• 0 active cases, 0 in hospital.
• Tasmania opens its borders. All eligible travellers must be fully vaccinated to enter and there are heightened border controls to make sure all arrivals are permitted to enter. There were more than 30 flights into Hobart today.

AUSTRALIA
• Australian states and territories are forging ahead with plans to ease restrictions on travel and gatherings ahead of Christmas, despite COVID cases surging in multiple jurisdictions.

NEW ZEALAND
• 76 new from 30,649 tests, 74 locally acquired, 2 OS travellers in managed isolation.
• 6,903 active cases, 61 in hospital, 4 in ICU.
• New local case locations are Auckland 56, Waikato 9, Bay of Plenty 7, Lakes 1, Canterbury 1.
• List of exposure sites.

WORLD
• UK ... at least 250 people are in hospital with the Omicron variant according to UK Deputy PM Dominic Raab saying those numbers could increase dramatically unless swift action was taken.
• UK Premier League Soccer shutdown feared after a record 42 positive tests across at least 5 clubs.
• US ... The number of people who've died from COVID in the United States has passed 800,000,  the highest in the world. Most deaths were among the unvaccinated and more than half of the 800,000 deaths occurred this year, despite the availability of vaccines.

Australia COVID-19 update 16 December 2021

Australia wide — 3414 new Australian acquired cases, 9 new OS acquired cases, 9 deaths.

VICTORIA
• 1,622 new from 80,841 tests, 1618 locally acquired, 4 OS travellers in quarantine, 9 deaths.
• 12,252 active cases, 384 in hospital, 87 active with 35 cleared in ICU, 49 ventilated.
• The state's highest daily new case count since late October.
• Deaths included people aged in their 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.
• The 10 LGAs with the highest number of new cases are Casey, Hume, Brimbank, Moonee Valley, Melton, Moreland, Monash, Whittlesea, Wyndham and Greater Dandenong.
• Hundreds of thousands of Victorians are overdue for their COVID booster shot, as the state grapples with containing the Omicron variant. The figure was revealed by chief health officer Brett Sutton on Wednesday, saying there are 6274 appointments available in the next week. In total, 720,403 Victorians are eligible for their third shot, while 442,716 are now overdue for it.
• More than 700 people ordered into quarantine after officials confirmed an Omicron case visited two popular Melbourne nightclubs.

NEW SOUTH WALES
• 1,742 new from 143,938 tests, 0 deaths.
• 7,647 active cases, 192 in hospital, 26 in ICU, 8 ventilated. 
• Today's new case numbers break state record of 1,603 set on September 11, and are the highest in NSW since the pandemic began.
• Roughly a third of today's cases in NSW are in the Hunter New England region.
• New cases by Local Health Districts are 633 Hunter New England, 231 SE Sydney, 188 SW Sydney, 166 Western Sydney, 159 Sydney, 111 Northern Sydney, 81 Northern NSW, 43 Central Coast, 38 Western NSW, 28 Nepean Blue Mountains, 23 Illawarra Shoalhaven, 14 Mid North Coast, 5 Murrumbidgee, 4 Far West NSW, 3 Southern NSW, 15 are yet to be assigned.
• Last night, NSW Health issued a public health alert for The Cambridge Hotel on Hunter Street in Newcastle after virus infected people attended. Anyone who visited from 6.30pm on Friday, December 10 to 2.30am on Saturday, December 11 is a close contact and must immediately get tested and isolate for 7 days. NSW Health also advised all household contacts of close contacts to be tested and self-isolate until a negative result was received by everyone in the household.
• NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard warned on Wednesday that NSW could face more than 25,000 cases a day by the end of January. He said research from the University of NSW showed the state was on track for a significant rise in cases over the coming weeks.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
• 24 new from 19,398 tests, 13 locally acquired, 7 interstate and 1 OS acquired, 3 under investigation.
• 108 active cases, 2 in hospital, 0 in ICU, 0 ventilated.
• The cases include five children under 18, nine men aged between 19 and 45 and ten women aged between 20 and 74.
• Four of today's cases are the Omicron variant. South Australia has now recorded six cases of Omicron in total.
• Cricket Australia confirms Australian captain Pat Cummins will miss the Adelaide Test due to being a COVID close contact. Steve Smith will be captain in his absence.
• List of exposure sites.

QUEENSLAND
• 22 new from 11,707 tests, 7 locally acquired, 12 interstate acquired, 3 OS travellers in quarantine.
• 67 active cases, 28 in hospital, 0 in ICU.
• All new interstate cases had received two doses of a COVID vaccine.
• Three Omicron cases now identified in Queensland, the Townsville soldier who flew from Newcastle to Townsville, a woman in the Brisbane suburb of Rochedale South who had been in Newcastle who was infectious in the community on December 12-13 and an international flight attendant who was not in the community.
• 18 of the new cases were detected outside quarantine and were out in the community for between 1 and 7 days in Brisbane's south, Brisbane's north, the Darling Downs, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, West Moreton and the Wide Bay.
• Mask wearing urged for busy indoor settings, public transport and high-risk settings. The Chief Health Officer admitted it was likely we would see a mask mandate come back in in Queensland if cases continued to increase.
• List of exposure sites. Many new added, especially on the Gold Coast.

ACT
• 11 new with 2,491 negative tests, all locally acquired.
• 61 active cases, 3 in hospital, 1 in ICU, 0 ventilated.
• List of exposure sites.

NORTHERN TERRITORY
• 1 new from 3,674 tests, an OS traveller in quarantine at Howard Springs.
• 62 active cases, 1 in hospital.
• The case is not linked to the NT outbreak, with the total number of cases remaining at 94.
• List of exposure sites.

TASMANIA
• 1 new from 807 tests, an interstate traveller.
• 1 active case, 0 in hospital.
• Tasmania has recorded its first case of COVID since the state opened its borders to the rest of the country yesterday.
• A man in his 20s, who arrived in Hobart from NSW on one of the early morning flights yesterday, has tested positive. The man was an approved traveller who had met all the necessary vaccination and pre-testing requirements but was later notified by NSW that he was a close contact and a further test returned positive. He is now isolating at his residence and being managed by Tasmanian Health. The taxi driver who took the man and their family member into the city has been identified and is in quarantine as is the family member.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
• 0 new from 4,165 tests.
• 3 active cases in hotel quarantine, 0 in hospital.
• List of exposure sites.

NEW ZEALAND
• 95 new from 28,946 tests, 91 locally acquired, 4 OS travellers in managed isolation.
• 6980 active cases, 58 in hospital, 4 in ICU.
• New local case locations are Auckland 55, Taranaki 16, Bay of Plenty 10, Waikato 7, Lakes 1.
• New Zealand’s first case of the Omicron variant detected in a recent OS arrival who tested positive on a day one test in Christchurch quarantine. The case arrived in Auckland from Germany via Dubai on December 10.
• List of exposure sites.

WORLD
• The UK sees a record 78,610 people test positive in the past 24 hours, the highest daily number reported since the start of the pandemic.
• "I've never been more concerned about the pandemic than I am tonight" says WHO Covid-19 envoy and warns of an "unprecedented" spread of Omicron to come.

Australia COVID-19 update 17 December 2021

Australia wide — 3823 new Australian acquired cases, 14 new OS acquired cases, 8 deaths.

VICTORIA
• 1,510 new from 82,301 tests, 1503 locally acquired, 7 OS travellers in quarantine, 7 deaths.
• 12,578 active cases, 386 in hospital, 82 active with 36 cleared in ICU, 43 ventilated.
• Deaths included people aged in their 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 100s.
• The 10 LGAs with the highest number of new cases are Hume, Casey, Whittlesea, Moreland, Brimbank, Wyndham, Cardinia, Melton, Glen Eira and Moonee Valley.
• Victoria confirmed another 6 new Omicron cases, bringing the total to 19, 5 from NSW and 1 international arrival.

NEW SOUTH WALES
• 2,213 new from 127,583 tests, 1 death.
• 9,569 active cases, 215 in hospital, 24 in ICU, 8 ventilated.
• An unvaccinated Northern Tablelands woman in her 60s with underlying health conditions has died at St Vincent’s Hospital.
• New cases by Local Health Districts are 674 Hunter New England, 279 SE Sydney, 266 Western Sydney, 261 SW Sydney, 204 Sydney, 165 Northern Sydney, 96 Northern NSW, 88 Central Coast, 32 Illawarra Shoalhaven, 30 Mid North Coast, 29 Western NSW, 25 Murrumbidgee, 25 Nepean Blue Mountains, 7 Southern NSW, 4 Far West NSW, 28 are yet to be assigned.
• A spike in Omicron cases, with 65 detected overnight, bringing the total number to 185.
• NSW Health is urgently trying to get in touch with 600 people who were at Sydney's Metro Theatre On Repeat: Taylor Swift Red Party in George Street on Friday night. So far, 97 people who went to the venue have tested positive. Anyone who attended must tested immediately and isolate for seven days.
• NSW Health urges Newcastle to put off partying until after Christmas. Two new Newcastle venues of concern added ... The Great Northern Hotel in Scott Street and Finnegan's Hotel in Darby Street last Saturday night.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
• 64 new from 17,364 tests, 49 locally acquired, 3 OS acquired, 12 under investigation.
• 108 active cases, 1 in hospital, 0 in ICU.
• The highest daily increase SA has recorded since the start of the pandemic.
• List of exposure sites.

ACT
• 20 new with 2,152 negative tests, all locally acquired.
• 75 active cases, 4 in hospital 0 in ICU.
• List of exposure sites.

QUEENSLAND
• 20 new from 14,666 tests, 9 locally acquired, 7 interstate acquired, 4 OS travellers in quarantine.
• 84 active cases, 42 in hospital, 0 in ICU.
• New locally/interstate acquired cases numbers recorded today are Cairns 2, Brisbane North 5, Brisbane South 8, West Moreton 1, the Sunshine Coast 2 and the Gold Coast 2.
• Queensland now has five Omicron cases. Two new Omicron cases are directly linked to the Newcastle cluster, 1 on the Gold Coast and 1 in Brisbane. Both were fully vaccinated and were asymptomatic. 
• From today, pubs, clubs and other venues are for the vaccinated only.
• As of 1am on Saturday December 18, masks are mandatory across Queensland in retail venues, hospitals, public transport and taxis/rideshare services. However Queenslanders don't need to wear masks in cafes, pubs, clubs and restaurants.
• List of exposure sites.

NORTHERN TERRITORY
• 8 new from 3,000+ tests, all locally acquired.
• 62 active cases, 1 in hospital.
• Six new cases are linked to the Katherine cluster, which takes the outbreak to 100 cases. Four of those six cases were detected in Tennant Creek and the other two were already in quarantine at the Howard Springs quarantine facility.
• There were also two cases detected in Yulara, a town near Uluru — both workers, they were close contacts of a Brisbane case and were notified about that while they were in transit to the NT. 
• Tennant Creek, just under 1,000 kilometres south of Darwin, enters lockdown after new positive cases recorded in the community. Anyone who has been in Tennant Creek since December 10 must get tested.
• List of exposure sites.

TASMANIA
• 3 new from 1,220 tests, interstate acquired.
• 6 active cases, 0 in hospital.
• Tasmania's three new active cases all came from the Newcastle area in NSW. Two arrived on an early morning Qantas flight on Wednesday, while the third arrived on a Virgin flight from Melbourne that afternoon. Anyone who has arrived in Tasmania since December 12 is being asked to get tested if they've been in the Newcastle area.
• A Tasmanian case from yesterday is being treated as an Omicron case.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
• 0 new from 4,000+ tests.
• 3 active cases in hotel quarantine, 0 in hospital.
• WA changes border rules with Queensland and Tasmania ... Queenslanders now need an exemption and have to quarantine for 14 days, Tasmanian travellers have to quarantine for 14 days.
• List of exposure sites.

NEW ZEALAND
• 79 new from 22,896 tests, 76 locally acquired, 3 OS travellers in managed isolation, 1 death.
• 2102 active cases, 51 in hospital, 5 in ICU.
• A child under 10 becomes NZ's youngest COVID death.
• New case locations are Auckland 47, Waikato 15, Bay of Plenty 10, Taranaki 3, and Lakes 1.
• Three more passengers on Omicron flights test positive, all on the same flights as NZ's first Omicron case, all passengers are being treated as close contacts and are isolating in a managed isolation facility.
• List of exposure sites.

WORLD
• The UK saw another daily record with 88,736 people testing positive in the past 24 hours, 10,000 more than yesterday, and a 74% rise in a week.

Australia COVID-19 update 18 December 2021

Australia wide — 4102 new Australian acquired cases, 8 new OS acquired cases, 8 deaths.

NEW SOUTH WALES
• 2,482 new from 137,149 tests, 1 death.
• 11,760 active cases, 206 in hospital, 26 in ICU, 9 ventilated.
• A double-dosed SW Sydney woman in her 90s with underlying health conditions died at the Gillawarna Village Aged Care Facility in Georges Hall where she acquired her infection, the 4th death linked to this facility.
• Today's NSW new cases figure the highest number recorded in any Australian jurisdiction in a 24-hour period.
• New cases by Local Health Districts are 899 Hunter New England, 362 SE Sydney, 286 SW Sydney, 232 Sydney, 219 Western Sydney, 159 Northern Sydney, 81 Central Coast, 62 Northern NSW, 42 Nepean Blue Mountains, 35 Illawarra Shoalhaven, 29 Western NSW, 28 Mid North Coast, 13 Murrumbidgee, 6 Southern NSW, 29 yet to be assigned.
• COVID outbreak cancels Christmas for aged care residents in Orange after a dozen residents and staff at the Gosling Creek Aged Care facility. In a statement, the facility says no residents are displaying concerning health conditions.
What are they thinking ???
• With the high number of cases now in NSW, NSW Health will only undertake genomic sequencing for the Omicron variant in the circumstances where it will make a clinical difference to the care of a patient.
• Yesterday NSW Health flagged major changes to its contact tracing system saying confirmed cases of coronavirus would NOW NEED TO IDENTIFY AND ALERT THEIR OWN CLOSE CONTACTS.
• Mandatory QR code check-ins have also been scrapped in many places, including in supermarkets, cafes and restaurants.

VICTORIA
• 1,504 new from 88,083 tests, 1499 locally acquired, 5 OS travellers in quarantine, 7 deaths.
• 13,443 active cases, 384 in hospital, 84 active with 38 cleared in ICU, 43 ventilated.
• Deaths included people aged in their 60s, 80s, 90s and 100s. Four of the notified deaths are historic cases that occurred in late November and early December.
• The 10 LGAs with the highest number of new cases are Hume, Casey, Whittlesea, Greater Dandenong, Brimbank, Moonee Valley, Melton, Moreland, Glen Eira, Monash and Wyndham.
• A cluster of COVID cases linked to two Melbourne bars has grown to 28.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
• 73 new from 19,232 tests, 70 locally acquired, 2 interstate and 1 OS acquired.
• 233 active cases, 2 in hospital, 0 in ICU.
• 177 in home quarantine and 54 in supervised quarantine.
• The highest daily case count the state's ever recorded, up slightly from yesterday's record of 64.
• At least 29 of SA's new cases were close contacts but with 73 new cases still under investigation, it may emerge that more of them are close contacts as well.
• More than 200 international students have been sent into an Adelaide medi-hotel after a positive case was recorded in student accommodation in the city's north. 
• List of exposure sites. Many new added.

QUEENSLAND
• 31 new from 16,137 tests, 24 locally acquired, 5 interstate acquired, 2 OS travellers in quarantine.
• 109 active cases, 51 in hospital, 0 in ICU.
• The state’s highest daily total since early 2020 and a 50% increase from yesterday.
• Queensland CHO John Gerrard says none of the active cases are seriously unwell. Eight of the new cases were contacts of known cases, some of whom were in home quarantine.
• There are now 12 Omicron cases in Queensland.
• A worker at Toowoomba Hospital on Queensland's Darling Downs tested positive yesterday. It's believed to be an employee in the hospital’s maternity ward and possibly some new mothers and their babies will be transferred to St Vincent’s Hospital in Toowoomba.
• At least 30 Gold Coast families reportedly forced to spend Christmas in quarantine after their children were identified as close contacts of a school vacation care worker. The children were taking part in a Camp Australia vacation program operated from Mudgeeraba Creek State School OSHC.
• Masks are required in all retail, shopping centres and public transport.
• List of exposure sites.

ACT
• 18 new with 3,362 negative tests, all locally acquired.
• 89 active cases, 3 in hospital 0 in ICU.
• List of exposure sites.

TASMANIA
• 1 new from 1,234 tests.
• 4 active cases, 0 in hospital.
• A man has tested positive in Tasmania's north, the man, aged in his late teens, arrived in Launceston from New South Wales on 16 December. A number of locations in Launceston visited by the man on 16 December have been listed as exposure sites including the Launceston Airport baggage carousel, JJ's City Cafe and a JB HiFi store.
• A Tasmanian case from yesterday is being treated as an Omicron case.

NORTHERN TERRITORY
• 1 new from 3,873 tests, locally acquired.
• 62+ active cases, several in hospital, 1 in ICU.
• One new case has been recorded, while 26 close contacts of two cases reported in the remote Central Australian community of Yulara yesterday are now being transferred to quarantine in Darwin, Health Minister Natasha Fyles says. There have been no new cases of COVID-19 recorded in the town of Tennant Creek overnight.
• Two of yesterday's cases were transferred to Alice Springs Hospital, with one of them in intensive care on oxygen. Another two are being cared for at the Tennant Creek Hospital.
• List of exposure sites.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
• 0 new from N/A tests.
• 3 active cases in hotel quarantine, 0 in hospital.
• List of exposure sites.

NEW ZEALAND
• 49 new from 19,902 tests, 39 locally acquired, 10 OS travellers in managed isolation.
• 1,993 active cases, 49 in hospital, 5 in ICU.
• New case locations are Auckland 25, Bay of Plenty 11, Lakes 2, Taranaki 1.
• There are now a total of eight cases with the Omicron variant isolating in MIQ facilities, none have been in the community.
• List of exposure sites.

What are they thinking, indeed?  Good question.  I wonder if next 'they' will be suggesting stopping the tests.  You kind of get the feeling that all the powers that be have just given up and decided to just let it rip.  And not just in NSW either, although this does take the cake.

"What are they thinking ???   
• With the high number of cases now in NSW, NSW Health will only undertake genomic sequencing for the Omicron variant in the circumstances where it will make a clinical difference to the care of a patient.
• Yesterday NSW Health flagged major changes to its contact tracing system saying confirmed cases of coronavirus would NOW NEED TO IDENTIFY AND ALERT THEIR OWN CLOSE CONTACTS.
• Mandatory QR code check-ins have also been scrapped in many places, including in supermarkets, cafes and restaurants."

Australia COVID-19 update 19 December 2021

Australia wide — 3954 new Australian acquired cases, 4 new OS acquired cases, 4 deaths.

NEW SOUTH WALES
• 2,566 new from 148,937 tests, 0 deaths.
• 14,050 active cases, 227 in hospital, 28 in ICU, 10 ventilated.
• The majority of people in ICU are unvaccinated, or have only had one vaccine dose.
• New cases by Local Health Districts are 712 Hunter New England, 446 SE Sydney, 303 SW Sydney, 311 Sydney, 279 Western Sydney, 189 Northern Sydney, 72 Central Coast, 66 Northern NSW, 50 Nepean Blue Mountains, 31 Illawarra Shoalhaven, 37 Western NSW, 23 Mid North Coast, 6 Murrumbidgee, 7 Southern NSW, 1 Far West NSW, 33 are yet to be assigned.
• NSW Premier and Health Minister reiterate calls for people to receive booster shots when eligible.
• NSW Health continues to remind everyone across the community to continue to practice COVID-Safe behaviours, including wearing a mask in settings where you cannot physically distance. Please consider using a Rapid Antigen Test before going out, if you do not have symptoms.

VICTORIA
• 1,240 new from 76,033 tests, 1239 locally acquired, 1 OS acquired, 4 deaths.
• 13,093 active cases, 392 in hospital, 81 active with 37 cleared in ICU, 41 ventilated.
• The four deaths were all people aged in their 70s. 
• The 10 LGAs with the highest number of new cases are Casey, Whittlesea, Hume, Wyndham, Brimbank, Greater Dandenong, Melton, Moreland, Melbourne and Moonee Valley.
• Authorities are investigating a COVID outbreak linked to a school camp site in South Gippsland,  with 47 cases linked to Camp Rumbug at Foster North. Reportedly, two schools have become infected after attending the camp including Brunswick North West Primary School, which currently has 27 active cases.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
• 80 new from 16,879 tests, 33 locally acquired, 5 interstate acquired and 42 under investigation.
• 309 active cases, 4 in hospital, 0 in ICU.
• Of the new cases, 33 were close contacts of other known cases. Thirteen children, five teenagers, 37 women aged between 18 and 73 and 25 men aged between 18 and 59 are among the numbers.
• SA Police are investigating a teenager who went clubbing in Adelaide after receiving positive test at the Loverboy nightclub on Hindley Street. The venue has since been declared a close contact exposure site.
• List of exposure sites.

QUEENSLAND
• 42 new from 18,312 tests, 34 locally acquired, 7 interstate acquired, 1 OS traveller in quarantine.
• 142 active cases, 51 in hospital, 0 in ICU.
• Of the 34 locally acquired, all but one of are mild, an unvaccinated case.
• Queensland to stop hospitalising every case of COVID to free up beds.
• The Omicron variant predicted be the dominant strain in days, numbers having doubled in 48 hours.
• Masks are mandatory in shops, hospitals and aged care facilities, on public transport and rideshare vehicles, and in airports and planes.
• List of exposure sites.

ACT
• 18 new with 1,721 negative tests, all locally acquired.
• 103 active cases, 3 in hospital 0 in ICU.
• List of exposure sites.

NORTHERN TERRITORY
• 9 new from N/A tests, 7 locally acquired, 2 returned OS travellers at Howard Springs.
• 62+ active cases, several in hospital, 1 in ICU.
• The two OS cases are both from an international flight from Johannesburg, South Africa earlier this month.
• The 7 locally acquired cases were recorded in Tennant Creek, nearly 1,000 kilometres south of Darwin, with the town's lockdown expected to be extended. It is believed all new cases are linked to the Katherine cluster. The cases have been taken to hospitals in Tennant Creek and Alice Springs.
• List of exposure sites.

TASMANIA
• 3 new from N/A tests.
• 7 active cases, 0 in hospital.
• New cases are man in his 30s who arrived in Hobart from Melbourne on Friday, a woman in her 50s who arrived in Launceston from Sydney on Wednesday and a family member and identified close contact of a previous case.
• Masks to be mandatory from 12:01am Monday for all indoor settings.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
• 0 new from N/A tests.
• 2 active cases in hotel quarantine, 0 in hospital.

NEW ZEALAND
• 63 new from 18,412 tests, 55 locally acquired, 8 OS travellers in managed isolation.
• 1,902 active cases, 56 in hospital, 6 in ICU.
• New case locations are Auckland 41, Taranaki 7, Waikato 4, Bay of Plenty 3.
• List of exposure sites.

New South Wales has recorded another massive number of new coronavirus cases, with hospitalisations also increasing.

Another 2501 cases were confirmed by NSW Health on Monday, after more than 144,000 people came forward for tests.

There are currently 261 people being treated in hospital compared to 227 on Sunday, an increase of 34.

Of those, 33 - up from 28 on Sunday - are in intensive care.