NSW Cases Soar To 11,201 As Testing Setbacks Continue

New South Wales infections have almost doubled over the last 24-hour reporting period with 11,201 new infections on Wednesday.

The spike in cases follows 6062 infections reported on Tuesday and is the first time in Australia that cases have hit the five-figure mark.

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It’s also a national first with more than 7000 cases recorded in a single day.

The new cases were detected from 157,758 swabs collected on Tuesday, as festive celebrations spilled over.

There are currently 625 people in hospital, with 61 of those are in ICU.

Sadly, three people have lost their lives due to Covid-related illnesses.

The rapid surge in presentations and hospitalisations, continues to gain momentum up from 388 on Christmas Day and compared with 302 last Wednesday.

Currently, more than 93 per cent of eligible people aged over 16 are now fully vaccinated, while 95 per cent have received their first dose.

Meantime, testing sites queues, and delays continue to hold the state at ransom, with NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet proffering "immediate" relief, after many are continuing to operate with reduced hours and staffing over the holiday season.

It comes as Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced via Twitter on Wednesday morning that pre-arrival PCR tests requirements would be dropped for interstate hotspot travellers from January 1.

Travellers will instead be required to produce a negative Rapid Antigen Test to satisfy border pass requirements prior to arrival.

The controversial decision, has been driven by NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard and Mr Perrottet, spruiking for the change.

It follows the Premier relaxing Covid restrictions on December 15 despite cases escalating only days earlier.

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