Hopes of a short, sharp coronavirus wave are being thwarted by a concoction of omicron subvariants driving a national patchwork of COVID-19 outbreaks, and hospital admissions and anti-viral prescriptions are the highest since the winter wave in August.

Nationally cases have lifted again for the sixth consecutive week, with a 20 per cent rise from the previous week, with Tasmania (up 46 per cent), ACT (up 35 per cent) and the Northern Territory (up 114 per cent) recording the highest case increases.