Sydney hospitals are battling coronavirus as daily infections hit record highs

SYDNEY, Aug 25 (Reuters) – Sydney’s COVID-19 infections hit a record high on Wednesday, putting pressure on parts of the healthcare system, officials said, calling for speeding up vaccinations to curb tide of hospital admissions.

Despite a two-month blockade in Sydney, the state of New South Wales (NSW) reported 919 new cases amid a growing outbreak of Delta variants, which brought the number of daily cases from Australia to a new maximum pandemic below 1,000. A total of 113 people in the state are in intensive care, with 98 of them unvaccinated.

“This highlights … the fact that vaccination is the key. We need to increase vaccine coverage levels,” said Kerry Chant, NSW’s director general of health, during a televised briefing in Sydney. the state capital.

Australia, which is struggling to control a third wave of coronavirus, has blocked more than half of its 25 million population, including the largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, and is accelerating an initial deployment of vaccines.

About 31% of people over the age of 16 have been completely vaccinated, while 54% have had at least one dose.

Westmead Hospital, one of the largest in Sydney’s western suburbs, has reduced ambulance arrivals for COVID-19 patients for 24 hours and moved critical patients to other hospitals, an internal note shared on Twitter showed. NSW legislator Cate Faehrmann.

Asked about the changes, State Health Minister Brad Hazzard acknowledged that the healthcare system works under pressure, but said the situation is still manageable.

“Westmead Hospital is typical of the kind of pressures you might expect when you get to a major hospital in the center of the epicenter of the virus outbreak,” he said. About 80% of cases have been detected in west Sydney.

In neighboring Victoria, new cases fell for the second day in a row to 45, below 50 a day earlier, as officials tried to increase vaccine launches by allowing anyone over the age of 16 to make an appointment. from Wednesday.

REOPENING PLANS

The rise in cases comes as the Australian federal government pressured states to adhere to a four-stage national reopening plan agreed last month, as some have suggested delays given the persistence of new daily numbers of cases in Sydney .

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Wednesday warned state leaders that current emergency financial support could be withdrawn when the country reaches a COVID-19 vaccination rate of 70% to 80%, even if states and territories they decide to maintain border controls.

“There should be no expectations on behalf of prime ministers and ministers in chief that our emergency financial support should continue on the current scale,” Frydenberg told Seven News.

Despite recent outbreaks in Delta, Australia’s coronavirus figures are still relatively low, with just over 46,600 cases and 986 deaths. Deaths from the latest outbreak have risen to 76, although the mortality rate has dropped from last year.

Virus-free Queensland said it would pause arrivals from the states of NSW and Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory for two weeks from Wednesday to help ease pressure on its hotel quarantine system.

(1 $ = 1.3782 Australian dollars)

Reports of Renju Jose; edited by Jane Wardell and Richard Pullin

Our standards: the principles of trust of Thomson Reuters.