COVID numbers fall, have we passed the peak?

LOW new-case numbers for COVID infections in Mildura and Robinvale appear to be encouraging, although the continuing shortage of rapid antigen test kits means true numbers anywhere in Australia are most likely unknown.

The Mildura local government area recorded just 10 new cases on Tuesday, the second anniversary of the first case confirmation in Australia, which was 36 fewer than the previous day and continued a downward trend over the past week. The number of active cases was 540, a drop of just six on the previous day. The Robinvale postcode area recorded no new infections, but still had 44 active cases.

Governments and health experts are hopeful Australia is nearing or past the peak of infections in the Omicron wave, but self-test RATs remain in very short supply and Sunraysia outlets are selling out of the few kits available within hours of restocking.

Victoria’s number of new confirmed or positive cases rose by about 3000 to nearly 15,000 on Tuesday, but the lack of RATs is also likely to have affected this total.

The death toll continues to mount in the post-lockdown era and Victoria recorded another 29 fatalities. The state’s overall number of pandemic fatalities is 1850, or more than seven times the state’s road toll last year.

In NSW, where 18,000 new cases were recorded and another 29 people died, that state’s government has announced a one-month extension of current pandemic restrictions.

These include capacity limits of one person per two square metres indoors at hospitality venues, and mandatory masks indoors, except in homes.

QR check-ins remain compulsory at certain venues, and the ban on singing and dancing at most public events remains in place.