Live breaking news: Fears as state's hotel cases sharply rise

There has been a sharp rise in one state's hotel quarantine cases for the fourth day in a row, leading to fears the system could put us all at risk. 

NSW's hotel quarantine process is being given a real test this week after 44 new infections picked up in the system over the past four days alone.

Thursday saw the biggest rise in cases from overseas travellers so far this week, with 15 new infections being detected.

Monday saw eight cases, Tuesday saw 12, and Wednesday saw nine new infections being detected.

The rise in infections comes amid an increase in concern over the use of hotels in densely populated cities to house returning travellers – as new variants spread at an alarming pace in other nations like India and Brazil.

Michael Toole, a Professor of International Health at the Burnet Institute, wrote a piece for The Conversation  saying it's "time to move quarantine out of city hotels" – after more than a dozen COVID leaks in six months.

This live blog is now close. Read below for the day's developments here in Australia and across the globe.

Originally published as Live breaking news: Fears as state's hotel cases sharply rise

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