New South Wales Health Minister Brad Hazzard has stated that he expects everybody in the state to contract the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
Speaking at a press conference the NSW Minister for Health, Mr Hazzard, was imploring residents to book in their vaccine booster shot as a defence against the variant of concern.
"Bottom line here is that we would expect that pretty well everybody in New South Wales at some point will get Omicron," Mr Hazzard said. NSW Labor health spokesman Ryan Park, who said the statement wasn’t good enough.
“Where’s the planning and where’s the resources and where’s the leadership?” Park said.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet is now calling on people entering high-risk environments such as household visits to get rapid antigen tests instead of PCR tests to lessen the strain on the health system as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to soar.
While Health Minister Brad Hazzard is saying everyone in NSW “is probably going to get Omicron at some stage”, Mr Perrottet is warning of “more sacrifices and inconveniences” as the country grapples with the Omicron outbreak.
St Vincent’s hospital in Sydney has launched an emergency response after falsely telling 400 people they tested negative for Covid when they were, in fact, positive. The hospital has released a statement saying it is believed the mistake was down to “human error”.
A further rise Covid-19 case numbers is on the cards in NSW, with more infections found from fewer tests on Boxing Day.
From today, people in NSW must again scan in with a QR code at cafes, restaurants and shopping centres, however, only at the entrance and not individual stores.
A maximum one person per two square metres density limit will also apply at pubs, restaurants and clubs from today.
It comes as NSW recorded 6,324 new COVID cases in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
