Canberra records 892 new cases of COVID-19

The new cases bring the active total to 4447. PCR tests were used to diagnose 254 of the cases, while rapid tests accounted for the remaining 638.

There are 62 people in hospital because of COVID, three of whom are in intensive care, and two are being ventilated.

Acting Health Minister Chris Steel said the territory's hospitals were still able to manage the current caseload, but there were plans in place to increase capacity if required.

"At this stage we haven't seen hospitalisations get to a stage where we need to enact the territory-wide health response, including getting more support from private hospital staff," Mr Steel said on Wednesday.

"But we'll continue to monitor the spread of the virus and how it's impacting on our hospitals."

The latest ACT Health COVID vaccination figures show 34.7 per cent of Canberrans aged 18 have received a third shot, while 98.6 per cent of over 12s have had two doses.

Some 37.9 per cent of Canberra children aged five to 11 have had their first dose of a vaccine.

MORE COVID-19 NEWS:

NSW has recorded 30,825 COVID-19 cases and 25 deaths.

The new cases were identified using 13,178 rapid tests and 17,647 PCR tests, and were logged over the 24 hours to 8pm on Wednesday.

There are 2781 patients in hospital, with 212 in ICU.

Some 29 per cent of people have received their third vaccination dose, while 19.1 per cent of children aged five to 11 have received their first jab.

Victoria has recorded another 15 deaths from COVID-19, and 21,966 new cases.

The new infections, confirmed by the Health Department on Thursday, included 11,693 from PCR tests and 10,273 from rapid antigen tests.

There are 246,894 active coronavirus cases in the state and 1206 patients in hospital.

A total of 122 people in intensive care, with 40 of those on a ventilator.

Meanwhile, the first two oral treatments for COVID-19 have been approved for use in Australia.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration granted provisional approval to the Pfizer-made Paxlovid, along with Lagevrio, made by pharmaceutical company Merck Sharp and Dohme. The treatments will be able to be used in adults with COVID-19 who do not require additional oxygen but are at risk of hospitalisation or death from the virus.

READ MORE:

Our coverage of the health and safety aspects of this outbreak of COVID-19 in the ACT is free for anyone to access. However, we depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support. You can also sign up for our newsletters for regular updates.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: