NSW on Saturday morning reported 7017 new infections in the past 24 hours, down from 7583. Eleven people died with Covid on Friday. There are now 1130 infected people in the state’s hospitals with 59 in intensive care. Meanwhile Victoria recorded a further 5874 cases and 15 coronavirus deaths on Friday. The state’s hospitals have 281 Covid patients with 43 in intensive care and five on ventilators. The update comes as rules in Victoria eased significantly, with masks no longer mandatory in most indoor settings from Friday night. Premier Daniel Andrews said the decision to ease rules has been attributed to the number of infected people in hospital more than halving over the past month.“We have made it very clear that we will do everything we can to normalise this virus – to push beyond it to get as close to normal living normal activity as we could possibly achieve,” Mr Andrews said last week.NSW eased their rules even further on Friday with masks only being required on public transport, airports and hospitals.Singing and dancing is again permitted at music festivals and the 20,000 person cap on such events set to go.Premier Dominic Perrottet said a plummeting number of infected people in hospital was the reason behind the changes.“There are very pleasing signs now in hospitals at the moment right across our state. And so as a result we are lifting a range of restrictions,” he said.“From time to time, we will see cases increase … This is the new reality.”However, Western Australia has decided to again tighten its restrictions as the state’s daily case tally climbed to 1043 on Thursday. It’s the state’s highest number of infections in a day since the pandemic began. Stage one restrictions will be expanded to the Kimberley as of 6am Saturday. These rules limit indoor gatherings at a private residence limited to a total of 30 people, 2 sqm rule for most recreational settings and masks in all public indoor areas. Attendance caps of 200 people also apply for most weddings. The restrictions are already in place in Kimberley, Perth, Peel, South West, Wheatbelt, Great Southern, and Pilbara. Stage two restrictions are also reportedly being considered by Premier Mark McGowan which would involve home gathering limits of 10 people and private outdoor gathering limits of 50 people.Mask wearing would be expanded to children in year 3 and above at schools along with all indoor settings except for at private home.WA FACES ‘HALF MILLION CASES’Modelling has predicted almost half a million people in Western Australia will be infected with Covid-19 in the next six months, even if the border doesn’t open to the rest of the country.Premier Mark McGowan on Monday submitted a five-page document to parliament detailing the modelling outlined by WA chief health officer Dr Andy Robertson.The document predicts the state is expected to have 463,932 West Australians infected with Covid-19 in the next 180 days.In the same six months, 5685 of those infections are expected to be hospitalised as a result of the virus and 715 will be put in ICU.It has also been predicted 129 WA residents will die as a result of Covid-19.“Modelling conducted by the Department of Health has analysed a number of pandemic scenarios for WA,” the document reads.The modelling is based on a complete reopening of domestic and international travel to “high number of visitors and returning residents” while there is also Omicron circulating in the community.The peak of WA’s Omicron outbreak is expected to hit towards the end of March, with a top of 10,363 cases in one day, while 443 patients will be in hospital and 56 in ICU.With the borders set to open on March 3 and the arrival of both domestic and international travellers, many residents have been worried about the effect on the Covid-19 situation in the state.However, the modelling predicts it will have “little to no effect on the trajectory of the current outbreak”.“In a living with Covid approach, further border restrictions will have limited or no efficacy in suppressing cases, as epidemic growth is overwhelmingly driven by community transmission,” the document says.WA Health predicts just 13 cases per day will be as a result from travel.While the statistics could be worrying for the state, especially with the pressure on the health care system, the estimates are believed to be “conservative” because WA has a higher vaccination rate than other states when Omicron arrived.“The actual effect may be lower cases and bed requirements,” the document stated.At least 65 per cent of the total WA population aged 16 or over will be triple-vaccinated by March 2, providing more immunity to tackle the spike in cases.
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