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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
National
Lanie Tindale

Two more COVID deaths as cases, hospitalisations stay high

In-depth COVID

Two people with COVID-19 have died: a man in his 70s and a man in his 80s.

There were 136 people with COVID-19 in hospital in the 24 hours to Sunday 8pm. Of those, five patients are in the ICU and three are on ventilation.

The ACT recorded 1143 new COVID-19 cases, including 515 PCR tests and 628 rapid antigen tests.

ACT Health said "154 positive RATs reported today were from the 24 hour period up to 8pm on Sunday and were not included in yesterday's report due to a technical issue. There are 474 positive RATs from this reporting period."

Sunday's new cases by age group

  • 0-4 years: 64
  • 5-11 years: 91
  • 12-17 years: 91
  • 18-24 years: 155
  • 25-39 years: 508
  • 40-49 years: 308
  • 50-64 years: 321
  • 65+ years: 163

COVID-19 vaccinations

  • Aged 5-11 years (1 dose): 80.6 per cent
  • Aged 5-11 years (2 doses): 69.1 per cent
  • Aged 5+ years (2 doses): 97.4 per cent
  • Aged 16+ years (3 doses): 77.4 per cent

Around Australia

New antiviral drugs prevent COVID-19 from multiplying in the body and can ultimately save lives, experts say.

The oral medicines Lagevrio (molnupiravir) and Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir and ritonavir) are effective in treating adults who are at risk of hospitalisation or death.

They are taken in tablet or capsule form early after testing positive to COVID-19 to stop the severity of infection.

"Lagevrio works by interfering with the virus' replication," a spokeswoman for MSD Australia said.

"This prevents the virus from multiplying, keeping virus levels low in the body and therefore reducing the severity of the disease. Lagevrio may protect against severe disease and (help patients) stay out of hospital."

The prescribed pills, which were approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration in January, have already helped more than 73,000 Australians, Health Minister Mark Butler said.

NSW

  • Deaths: 8
  • New cases: 7586
  • Hospitalisations: 2002
  • ICU: 63

Victoria

  • Deaths: 0
  • New cases: 8689
  • Hospitalisations: 717
  • ICU: 30
  • Ventilation: 6

Queensland

  • Deaths: 0
  • New cases: 4804
  • Hospitalisations: 782
  • ICU: 10

Tasmania

  • New cases: 1439
  • Hospitalisations: 99 (28 being treated for COVID)
  • ICU: 4

Northern Territory

  • Deaths: 0
  • New cases: 323
  • Hospitalisations: 25
  • ICU: 1

Western Australia

  • WA no longer publishes daily updates

South Australia

  • SA no longer publishes daily updates

- with AAP

Our coverage of the health and safety aspects of this outbreak of COVID-19 in the ACT is free for anyone to access. However, we depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support. You can also sign up for our newsletters for regular updates.

Capital Pathology senior scientific officer Rebecca Taylor. Picture: Dion Georgopoulos
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