NSW records 2566 new Covid-19 cases, sets Australia’s highest daily figure record

Premier Dominic Perrottet has resisted calls to reinstate lockdowns and instead urged eligible people to get a booster shot, saying NSW is “learning to live with Covid”. The state recorded 2566 new Covid-19 cases and no deaths today.

Premier Dominic Perrottet has urged all eligible people to get their Covid-19 boosters shots, as NSW’s first line of defence against surging virus cases.

“We’ll get through this summer as we’ve got through the past two. The key today is please get your booster shot,” Mr Perrottet said.

NSW today recorded 2566 new Covid-19 cases, with Omicron becoming the dominant variant in the state’s sudden surge in infection. There were no new Covid-10 deaths reported.

“ICU presentations are our key metric. I’m incredibly confident that we can get through this,” Mr Perrottet said.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet during a press conference in Sydney on Sunday. Picture: Flavio Brancaleone/Newswire

Sunday’s number breaks a record only set on Saturday, when NSW confirmed 2482 new cases — the most recorded in an Australian state since the beginning of the pandemic.

People queue at the St Vincent's Bondi Beach COVID-19 drive through testing clinic on Friday. Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

The Premier said that 94.9 per cent of eligible people in NSW had received their first dose of the vaccination, and more than 120,000 NSW residents have received Covid-19 booster shots.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard said there has been a “quadrupling” on weekly figures with NSW Health delivering 57,000 doses in the past week alone.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard tells media that “the only club to be in is the booster club”. Picture: Flavio Brancaleone/NCA Newswire

“There is only one club that people should belong to and that’s the booster club,” Mr Hazzard said.

He added that by the end of January, 40 per cent of the vaccinated population would be eligible for booster shots and by the end of April, that it would reach 91 per cent eligibility.

Mr Hazzard said he still hoped next year would be a good year, but it was vital that people get booster shots when eligible, get tested and stay home when sick, and consider wearing a mask when in crowded indoor settings.

NSW Health Deputy Secretary Susan Pearce said the number of severe cases in the state remains low. Picture: Flavio Brancaleone/NCA Newswire

NSW Health deputy secretary Susan Pearce said most of the patients in intensive care were unvaccinated or had received just one dose.

She added that even with record case numbers, ICU presentations remained stable.

Premier Dominic Perrottet said he “strongly encouraged” the use of masks but will not tighten restrictions until there is “evidence” to support that.

Earlier, NSW Health issued a statement saying the Omicron variant was “likely” to account for the majority of the new cases and it would be scaling back the attempts to identify the new strain in confirmed cases.

“With the high number of Covid-19 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,” it said the statement.

“For instance, where it will inform treatment choices as some therapies work with Delta but not for Omicron, and in situations where it will inform public health action.”