Canberra records 1001 new cases of COVID-19

Of a total 1001 new cases reported Saturday, 512 were recorded via PCT testing, while the remaining 489 turned up on rapid antigen tests.

Five of the 71 people hospitalised are in intensive care, while two require ventilation.

There are now 6366 active cases in the territory. The highest caseload for Canberra was recorded on January 19 this year, as the height of the initial Omicron wave reached 6655 active infections.

There has now been 117,882 cases recorded since Canberra's outbreak began in March 2020.

No new deaths were reported on Saturday, and the death toll remains at 58.

ACT Health announced on Wednesday a man in his 70s and a woman in her 90s died with the virus. A man in his 90s also passed away this week.

Just over 80 per cent of children aged five to 11 have received a first dose of a vaccine, while 97.1 per cent of the entire population aged five and over is double vaccinated.

People aged 16 and over who have received three doses account for 75.8 per cent of the population.

An epidemiological report released by the ACT government on Friday revealed upwards of 500 people have reported having COVID more than once.

But officials have been quick to caution that this may not necessarily be a reinfection but rather a "second episode" of COVID-19. Officials say measuring reinfections is difficult.

The BA.5 subvariant of COVID-19 was also detected in Canberra for the first time, in a sample collected from a recently returned overseas traveller.

NSW has recorded 10,954 new COVID-19 cases and 19 deaths in the 24 hours to 4pm.

There are 1377 COVID-19 patients in hospital, with 58 in ICU.

Hospitalisation numbers are down on yesterday, when 1398 patients were being cared for with 60 in ICU.

Of the new cases, 6385 came from positive rapid antigen tests while 4569 came from PCR testing.

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