NSW and Victoria report BIG spike in Covid deaths
New South Wales and Victoria have seen an increase in Covid-related deaths with 74 lives lost, despite a decrease in cases.
In NSW, 35 Covid people died with the virus on Friday while Victoria reported 39 deaths.
NSW Health reported 13,333 cases of Covid-19, a drop from the previous day's 17,316 infections.
The cases come from 7077 positive RATs and 6256 positive PCR tests.
The total number of lives lost is a jump from Thursday's total, with 29 deaths reported.
Victoria reports record numbers of deaths
Victoria also recorded a drop in cases, with 12,755 new infections, down from 13,755 the day before.
These come from 7410 RATs and 5345 PCRs.
Friday's death toll is the highest the state has seen since Victoria's second wave when 59 fatalities were recorded on September 4, 2020.
It was a jump from Thursday's total of 15 Covid related deaths.
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There are currently 114 people in ICU in Victoria and 189 in NSW.
Hospitalisations with Covid-19 have fallen in Victoria by 69 to 988 patients, down from 1057 on Thursday.
They increased slightly in NSW from 2722 to 2737.
Booster shots 'critical' in preventing severe disease
In NSW, 36.4 per cent of people have lined up for a third jab with 35 per cent of Victorians doing the same.
On Thursday, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard criticised Aussies who were hesitant to get the Covid booster shot, saying 100,000 appointments had gone to waste last week.
“The numbers of boosters are not what we need them to be to keep people safe, that’s the bottom line,” he told reporters.
NSW Health deputy secretary Susan Pearce said the booster shots were "critical".
“What we know is that to prevent severe disease, that booster is absolutely critical,” she said.
“You still need to have it, we cannot reiterate this strongly enough.”
With AAP
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