NSW records highest Covid-19 numbers with 2482 new cases, most expected to be Omicron

The reason NSW has broken its daily cases number is ‘likely’ due to Omicron numbers now spreading rapidly, health authorities say.

NSW has seen a massive surge in Omicron cases, with health authorities saying the new variant is “likely” to account for Saturday’s 2482 new infections.

Daily Covid numbers in the state continue to climb with the 2482 new cases becoming the highest daily figure across Australia since the beginning of the pandemic.

Health authorities also announced one person had died from the virus in the past 24 hours.

Hospitalisations and intensive care presentations remain relatively low, with 206 people in hospital with the virus, including 26 patients in ICU.

NSW Health has said the Omicron variant is “likely” to be accounting for the majority of the new cases and will be scaling back the attempts to identify the new strain in confirmed cases.

The ACT has also seen an increased demand in testing.

“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,” NSW said in a 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.”

Victoria recorded high numbers on Saturday, with 1504 cases and seven deaths confirmed by authorities.

Queensland reported 24 new cases, the state’s highest daily total since mid-2020.

Saturday’s case numbers in NSW are a jump from the previous record of 2213 on Friday, with 1742 on Thursday and 1360 on Wednesday as the Omicron variant runs rampant across the state.

NSW COVID-19 update – Saturday 18 December 2021

In the 24-hour reporting period to 8pm last night:

- 94.9% of people aged 16+ have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine
- 93.3% of people aged 16+ have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine pic.twitter.com/HIr5CV8wJw

— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) December 17, 2021

Testing clinics across the state have been inundated with people hoping to test negative ahead of the Christmas period.

Hundreds of thousands of people have undergone testing in the past week with 137,149 tests conducted on Friday, with many needing the negative result to travel interstate and visit family for the first time in months.

Multiple testing sites had seen crowds of people queuing around the block by 8.30am on Saturday, with one inner-west woman having to change locations.

Camperdown woman Zoe took one look at the queue at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital on Saturday morning and decided to go somewhere else.

The clinic had only been open about 30 minutes when she arrived.

“I thought I was smart by getting up early and heading to the testing clinic at RPA right when it was open but I was wrong,” she told NCA Newswire.

“The line was chockers and twisted all the way around into the car park.”

Testing lines at Camperdown’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital were wrapped around the block. Picture: Supplied

Instead, she rode her bike over to the Histopath testing clinic on Gibbons Street at Redfern where she was met with the same problem, where she waited more than an hour to get swabbed.

“It’s good a lot of people are getting tested but it’s hard to believe we’re living with Covid as I expect I won’t get my result back for a long while,” Zoe said.

A worker at the Gibbons Street clinic said the lines on Saturday were the worst they had ever seen it.

“We are quite a small clinic, the maximum someone has ever waited is 45 minutes,” he said.

A NSW Health spokesperson thanked the community for the “incredible response” in coming out for testing as transmission rates increase.

“NSW Health is closely monitoring the demand for testing and has the capacity to extend opening hours, introduce additional drive-through sites and establish extra pop-up clinics should the need arise,” the spokesperson told NCA Newswire.

“NSW Health also works closely with private testing labs across the state.

“Private providers have been a vital support to the testing effort and NSW Health has been actively working with many of the major providers on key commitments to ensure turnaround times for test continue to be as fast as possible.”

Testing clinics in Sydney's inner west were inundated with people on Saturday morning as hundreds turn out to get tested for Covid-19. Picture: Supplied

The Gibbons Street testing clinic at Redfern. Picture: Supplied

The department is working with private providers to ensure turnaround times were “as fast as possible”.

In response to the overwhelming demand in Sydney, St Vincent’s Hospital is reopening two testing clinics in Darlinghurst and Rushcutters Bay.

The ACT has also seen an increased demand in testing, with pop-up clinics being opened to respond to the increased demand.

By 9am Saturday, testing facilities were already overrun with massive wait lines of up to two hours after being open for just one hour.

“Mitchell testing facility is experiencing long waits. Please consider Holt as an alternative,” ACT Health said in a statement on Saturday morning.

By 9am the Mitchell and Kambah drive-through clinics were experiencing wait times of more than two hours.

It comes after the largest testing site in the territory at Exhibition Park was closed on Friday.

Earlier in the week ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith made a plea for ACT residents to try and get tested in off-peak times, with testing demand the worst in the morning and after 4pm.

The majority of people coming forward for testing need the negative results to travel interstate.

“Carloads of people are coming forward and getting tested,” she told reporters during the week.

Saturday’s update comes a day after NSW Health flagged major changes to its contact tracing system. Picture: Toby Zerna

“That‘s quite different to what we normally see when people are getting tested because they’re symptomatic or they’re a close contact where we see usually one or maybe two people in a vehicle.

“That does mean we have a whole carload of people who all need to get tested and that takes longer per vehicle.”

Saturday’s update comes a day after NSW Health flagged major changes to its contact tracing system.

NSW Health on Friday said confirmed cases of coronavirus would now need to identify and alert their own close contacts.

Earlier in the week Premier Dominic Perrottet said only household close contacts or anyone who attended a venue identified by NSW Health would need to isolate for seven days.

Instead, fully vaccinated close contacts will be required to get tested and isolate until a negative result is returned.

Mandatory QR code check-ins have also been scrapped in many places, including in cafes and restaurants.