New COVID cases are above 1000 for the second day in a row in Canberra as infections hit their highest point in almost two months.
The ACT has recorded 1311 new COVID-19 cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Wednesday. This is the highest numbers have been since January 19 recorded 1467 new infections.
This comes after infections jumped to 1226 on Wednesday, well up on the 786 new infections reported the day before.
There were 39 people in hospital to 8pm Wednesday. Three of them are in intensive care and one under ventilation. A day earlier, the number of hospital admissions was the same, with four in intensive care.
The new infections were made up of 727 PCR tests and 584 rapid tests.
The total number of cases since the pandemic began over two years ago is at 63,148.
The new cases reported on Thursday brought the total number of active cases in the ACT to 4894, up from the 4339 reported on Wednesday.
Vaccination rates continue to increase
Second-dose vaccination bookings have opened for children aged five to 11. Second jabs are available for children eight weeks after they have had their first dose.
The total number of people over five who are double vaccinated now comes in at 94.9 per cent.
A total of 70.8 per cent of people have received their booster, and 79.3 per cent of children aged five to 11 are vaccinated with a single dose.
Union warns schools may close due to staff shortages
Schools are facing a sudden tightening of staffing with the Australian Education Union in the ACT warning that some schools may have to close.
"If we see the staffing situation deteriorate further, we may have to see closures," Patrick Judge, ACT branch secretary of the Australian Education Union, said.
In some of the territory's public schools, a quarter of staff have sometimes been off, according to the union, and that has meant classes being merged and teaching in classrooms cut back. If more than 25 per cent of staff are off, schools could have to close, the union leader said.
The ACT government has not ruled out a return to remote learning as high case numbers and staff shortages continue to plague the territory's schools.
It comes after two Queanbeyan public high schools moved to bring back some home learning amid ongoing COVID-19 infections and staff shortages that forced cuts to classes.
Meanwhile, a new and more contagious sub-lineage strain of Omicron is expected to become the dominant strain in the territory, health authorities have warned.
The strain is likely to fuel a rise in case numbers within Canberra over the coming weeks but hospitalisations are expected to remain steady.
Early evidence has indicated the strain, named the BA.2 sub-lineage, was not more severe than earlier variants.
- For available appointments, call the ACT COVID-19 vaccination booking line on (02) 5124 7700.
Around Australia
NSW has recorded 20,087 new COVID-19 cases and five deaths in the 24 hours to 4pm.
Excluding yesterday's case numbers, which included missed figures from earlier days in the week, NSW hasn't recorded a day with more than 20,000 cases since January 26 when 21,030 infections were recorded.
There are 1036 COVID-19 patients in hospital, with 34 in ICU.
Hospitalisation numbers are up on Wednesday, when 1016 patients were being cared for, however, ICU numbers are down on yesterday, when 36 were in care.
Victoria has reported seven deaths in the 24 hours to midnight Wednesday and 9752 new COVID cases.
There were 197 hospitalisations in the state, including 23 in ICU and four on ventilators.
