Emerging figures from Australian states and territories show the latest wave of COVID shows little sign of abating.

Read the latest developments State by State:

NSW Records 18,278 New COVID-19 Cases

NSW has recorded another 18,278 COVID cases and two deaths as the state’s massive outbreak continues to spread.

There are now 1,066 people hospitalized with the virus, including 83 in intensive care.

The number of daily cases is also lower than the 22,577 infections on Saturday when four deaths were recorded.

The high number of cases comes as Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet continues to focus on the number of hospitalizations and intensive care rather than the total number of daily cases.

At the height of Delta’s outbreak on September 21, there were 1,266 people hospitalized with infections and 244 in intensive care.

Although they make up about 6% of the population, unvaccinated people make up the majority of people in intensive care, said Health Minister Brad Hazzard.

Chief health officer Kerry Chant warned earlier in the week that there were likely more cases than health officials knew as testing systems remained behind schedule with a huge demand for tests to be carried out. approaching Christmas.

Some 93.6% of adult NSW residents have now received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, while the 12-15 age group has dropped to 78.2% after receiving two doses.

Victoria records 7,172 cases, three deaths

The first day of 2022 was not kind to 7,172 Victorians, the last residents of the state to contract COVID-19.

Three other virus-related deaths were also recorded for January 1.

However, the number of Victorian coronavirus patients hospitalized remains relatively stable at 472, up 19 from Saturday and 48 above the seven-day average.

Of these, 52 are classified as active intensive care cases and 22 are in need of ventilation.

In total, Victoria is managing 31,461 active cases of COVID-19.

The state is 93% fully immunized for all people 12 years of age and older.

Some 7,442 infections were reported on Saturday, another pandemic record. There were 51 actively contagious patients in intensive care and 21 on ventilation.

Queensland registers 3,587 new cases of virus

Queensland has added 3,587 infections to its COVID-19 workload as a new indoor mask mandate takes effect statewide.

Some 16,688 residents of Queensland are now infected with the virus. However, the number of hospitals remains low with 112 patients treated, including five in intensive care and none requiring ventilation.

Queensland is 86.60% fully vaccinated for all ages 16 and over.

Chief health officer John Gerrard said despite a jump of more than 1,300 cases in one day, he was not surprised. In part, the increase is linked to a change in reporting protocols that saw case numbers pulled from a 12-hour window on Friday.

“This number is probably a little smaller than what we expected,” he said in Brisbane on Sunday of the latest figures.

“This probably concerns (also) the testing during the holiday period and so it will not be at all a surprise that in the next few days we see a significant increase in cases as more samples are tested and more people show up. “

Dr Gerrard said what experts were now seeing with the virus was that it was a “very different disease” from what was spreading in the community last year and before the vaccination.

“With a degree of contagiousness of this virus, we are going to see a very large number of cases, although the severity is clearly going to be less,” he said.

“We’re going to see a very large number of cases and a small proportion of a very large number (who get sick) is still a large number.”

ACT COVID-19 cases break 500 to new record

The ACT has registered 506 new cases of COVID-19, marking the first time the territory has passed 500 cases in one day.

There are nine people hospitalized, including one in intensive care, according to figures released on Sunday. One person is on ventilation.

The cases are among 3,101 negative test results.

There are now more than 1,800 active cases in ACT and the total number of the current outbreak stands at 4,795.

Tasmania registers 404 new cases of COVID-19

Tasmania has recorded 404 new COVID-19 infections as the number of people hospitalized with the virus has risen to three.

Active infections across the state have increased to 1,219 cases.

The numbers were a slight decrease from the daily tally of cases on Saturday, when 428 were recorded.

Sixty cases are managed in community case management centers and 316 are managed at home.

None of the three hospitalized cases is in intensive care.

On New Years Day, Prime Minister Peter Gutwein said that with a highly vaccinated population, Tasmania would not be heading for lockdown or closing its borders.

But he advised travelers of caution, reminding Tasmanians and visitors if they contract the virus or become close contact while they are away, they should self-isolate at their own expense.

COVID ACROSS AUSTRALIA

• TOTAL NEW CASES – 32 341
• TOTAL NEW DEATHS – 5
• New South Wales – 18,278 new cases, two deaths
• CIV – 7,172 new cases, three deaths
• QLD – 3,587 new cases
• HER –2298 new cases
• TO ACT – 506 new cases
• TAS – 404 new cases
• NT – 94 new cases
• WA – 1 new case