Victoria records 7172 new Covid cases

The state’s Sunday caseload is down from a record 7442 on Saturday, although hospitalisations have risen from 451 to 472.There are 52 people with active infections in intensive care and 22 on ventilators.A further 46 people remain in ICU but their cases are no longer considered active.The update follows admissions by the state government that the Omicron variant is fuelling the growing tally, with the more infectious strain spreading rapidly since arriving in December.There are currently 31,461 active cases in the state, with 93 per cent of the population over 12 fully vaccinated. Testing numbers dropped from 63,026 on Saturday to 48,252 on Sunday, which was the first time since Christmas Day that daily cases fell.Scorching temperatures forced the closure of some Victorian testing sites over the weekend.Temperatures inside the tents can rise as much as 10 degrees higher than outside in addition to staff working in full PPE.NSW on Sunday recorded a slightly lower daily total of 18,278 new cases, but hospitalisations in the state are now above 1000.The state’s daily case numbers hit a record 22,577 on Saturday but have fallen back in the 24 hours since, a reporting period that stretched over New Year’s Day. Testing numbers dropped by 30,000 to 90,019 as people woke to the New Year. Two more people died from Covid, while the number of people in hospital – 1066 patients – is up from 901 on January 1.