SYDNEY: Australia reported one of its highest daily death tolls from the coronavirus on Thursday while hospital admissions hovered near record levels, as authorities struggle to get ahead of highly contagious omicron variants.
The BA.4/5 variants are good at evading immune protection from vaccination or prior infection and have been driving a surge of new infections globally.
Australia is reporting the highest daily numbers since the first omicron wave earlier this year, with 89 deaths from the coronavirus on Thursday and 90 on Wednesday. Just over 55,600 new cases were recorded on Thursday, the highest since May 18.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said state leaders and federal health officials have not recommended making masks mandatory in indoor venues, despite calls by some doctors to do so.
Australia avoided the high death tolls seen in other countries during the first waves of the pandemic thanks largely to high levels of public compliance with tough social distancing restrictions.
But there is little public appetite for a return to such measures to defeat the latest surge in infections and Albanese has resisted pressure from some health experts to impose mask mandates.
“It’s no good having a mandate unless it’s enforced,” Albanese told ABC Radio.
He said health officials also had to take into account the effects of tough restrictions on mental health.
The latest omicron wave is pushing the number of people with COVID-19 in Australian hospitals close to the peak hit in January. About 5,350 patients are in hospitals, and several states are battling record admissions.
Authorities have urged businesses to let staff work from home and recommended people get booster shots urgently, with only about 71 percent of the eligible population having received their boosters. About 95 percent of people above 16 have had two doses.
Since the pandemic began, Australia has reported about 9 million COVID-19 cases and 10,968 deaths.
Australia battles fresh omicron outbreak as COVID-19 deaths rise
https://arab.news/9refq
Australia battles fresh omicron outbreak as COVID-19 deaths rise
- Australia is reporting the highest daily numbers since the first omicron wave earlier this year
- Australia avoided the high death tolls seen in other countries during the first waves of the pandemic
South Korea calls for resuming dialogue with North
- President Lee Jae Myung has sought to mend ties with the nuclear-armed North since taking office in June
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul
SEOUL: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called on Sunday for dialogue with North Korea to resume, after Pyongyang last week shunned the prospect of diplomacy with its neighbor.
Since taking office in June, a dovish Lee has sought to mend ties with the nuclear-armed North, which reaffirmed its anti-Seoul approach during a party meeting last week.
“As my administration has repeatedly made clear, we respect the North’s system and will neither engage in any type of hostile acts, nor pursue any form of unification by absorption,” Lee said in a speech marking the anniversary of a historical campaign against Japan’s colonial rule.
“We will also continue our efforts to resume dialogue with the North,” he said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, describing its overtures as “clumsy, deceptive farce and a poor work.”
Speaking at the party congress in Pyongyang, Kim said North Korea has “absolutely no business dealing with South Korea, its most hostile entity, and will permanently exclude South Korea from the category of compatriots.”
But he also said the North could “get along well” with the United States if Washington acknowledges its nuclear status.
Speculation has mounted over whether US President Donald Trump will seek a meeting with Kim during planned travels to China.
Last year, Trump said he was “100 percent” open to a meeting.
Previous Trump-Kim summits during the US president’s first term fell apart after the pair failed to agree over sanctions relief — and what nuclear concessions North Korea might make in return.
