Australia has reported its first death from the Omicron variant of Covid-19 with a man in his 80s from the New South Wales (NSW) – the most populous state – of the country – dying at a local hospital.
The man was a resident of the Uniting Lilian Wells aged care facility in North Parramatta in western Sydney, where he acquired his infection, informed the NSW health authorities.
"He had received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine and had underlying health conditions. This is the first known death in NSW linked to the Omicron variant of concern," tweeted NSW Health.
The state has recorded 6,324 new cases of Covid-19 in the 24 hours till 8 pm on Sunday.
There are currently 520 Covid-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 55 people in intensive care, 17 of whom require ventilation.
Australia saw long testing queues on Monday as authorities advised people to use rapid antigen test before going out for festivities.
8th in line for family COVID test at 545am, before it opens at 8am. In Australia, this is what you have to do to cross some state borders. Entering the 3rd year of the pandemic & with a world leading vaccination rate of >90% of adults, this is ‘living with COVID’ Aussie style pic.twitter.com/S9ZXwe6d4A
— John Kehoe (@Johnkehoe23) December 25, 2021
"Around a quarter of people exposed to Covid-19 may still develop their infection after seven days. For the next seven days, close contacts should exercise caution and not enter a high-risk setting, should avoid large indoor gatherings, use a rapid antigen test if coming into contact with vulnerable people," advised the Australian health agencies.
