Hundreds Of Aged Care Facilities Impacted As State Records 34,660 Infections

NSW has recorded 34,660 new Covid cases and another 20 deaths overnight as local aged care facilities struggle to combat the virus.

There are now 2,650 people in hospital with Covid and 191 people in intensive care units.  

Of the latest numbers, 20,978 were from positive PCR tests while another 13,682 were from rapid antigen tests.

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According to NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet although numbers are not increasing exponentially, the health system is still struggling to keep up.

"I think what we're seeing today is incredibly encouraging and pleasing but there's a long way to go, it's going to be a difficult three weeks,” he said.

"The next few weeks will be challenging for our state, but I would say the early indications are encouraging.”

Health Minister Brad Hazzard reiterated that getting everyone vaccinated should be the state’s priority as northern NSW falls behind with all of Lismore Hospital’s ICU patients unvaccinated.

"One day this week we had six people in this intensive care unit and all six were unvaccinated. You can't get a clearer message than that,” he said.

“In a hospital, you have everybody who's in the ICU unvaccinated, there is a message for the rest of the state. Go and get vaccinated.”

The state is currently at 25 percent of the eligible population vaccinated with the booster shot, with 11 percent of children between the ages of five and 11 vaccinated with their first shot.

Several aged care facilities throughout the state have been heavily impacted by the outbreak, with 1,580 staff testing positive for the virus and another 1,530 residents also testing positive throughout 425 facilities.

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