SYDNEY: The number of Australians admitted to hospitals with COVID-19 hit a record of about 5,450 on Monday, official data showed, as the spread of highly contagious new omicron sub-variants strains the health care system nationwide.
The figure has grown since late June, as the BA.4 and BA.5 strains became dominant since they can evade immune protection, whether from vaccination or prior infection, while some experts say the latter can be as infectious as measles.
The number of those in hospitals is the highest since the emergence of the coronavirus, exceeding January’s high of 5,390 during the first wave of omicron infections. Daily death tolls have also risen, topping 100 on Saturday for the first time.
More than 1,000 retirement homes have suffered outbreaks, the government said, as the elderly are largely affected.
With several aged care centers battling a shortage of staff, the support of defense personnel in such facilities is to be extended until the end of September, Defense Minister Richard Marles said.
“It is an extreme measure and it’s right to describe it as that,” he told ABC television. “Given the number of outbreaks that we’ve got right now, this is the right thing to do.”
Many frontline workers in hospitals are also sick or in isolation, worsening the health care crisis.
During a harsh winter with both COVID-19 and the flu virus circulating, authorities have recommended the use of masks indoors and urgent booster doses of vaccine, while telling businesses to allow work from home.
Australia, one of the countries most heavily vaccinated against COVID-19, has given two doses to about 95 percent of those older than 16, although just about 71 percent have had booster shots.
Still, its tally of about 9.13 million infections and 11,181 deaths was lower than many developed economies.
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Record number of coronavirus-hit Australians in hospital as omicron surges
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Record number of coronavirus-hit Australians in hospital as omicron surges
- The figure has grown since late June, as the BA.4 and BA.5 strains became dominant
- Many frontline workers in hospitals are also sick or in isolation, worsening the health care crisis
Somalia’s capital votes in first step toward restoring universal suffrage
MOGADISHU: Residents of Somalia’s capital Mogadishu will vote on Thursday in municipal elections meant to pave the way for the East African country’s first direct national polls in more than half a century.
With the exception of votes in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland and the breakaway region of Somaliland, Somalia last held direct elections in 1969, months before military general, Mohamed Siad Barre, took power in a coup.
After years of civil war that followed Barre’s fall in 1991, indirect elections were introduced in 2004. The idea was to promote consensus among rival clans in the face of an Islamist insurgency, although some Somalis say politicians prefer indirect elections because they create opportunities for corruption.
Under the system, clan representatives elect lawmakers, who then choose the president. The president, in turn, has been responsible for appointing Mogadishu’s mayor.
The vote in Mogadishu, a city of some 3 million people where security conditions have improved in recent years despite continuing attacks by Al-Qaeda-linked al Shabab militants, is seen as a test run for direct elections at the national level.
Around 1,605 candidates are running on Thursday for 390 posts in Mogadishu’s district councils, said Abdishakur Abib Hayir, a member of the National Electoral Commission. Council members will then choose a mayor.
“It shows Somalia is standing on its feet and moving forward,” Hayir told Reuters. “After the local election, elections can and will take place in the entire country.”
A 2024 law restored universal suffrage ahead of federal elections expected next year. However, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud reached a deal in August with some opposition leaders stipulating that while lawmakers would be directly elected in 2026, the president would still be chosen by parliament.
Opposition parties have argued the rapid introduction of a new electoral system would benefit Mohamud’s re-election prospects.
They also question whether the country is safe enough for mass voting given Al-Shabab’s control over vast areas of the countryside and regular strikes on major population centers.
With the exception of votes in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland and the breakaway region of Somaliland, Somalia last held direct elections in 1969, months before military general, Mohamed Siad Barre, took power in a coup.
After years of civil war that followed Barre’s fall in 1991, indirect elections were introduced in 2004. The idea was to promote consensus among rival clans in the face of an Islamist insurgency, although some Somalis say politicians prefer indirect elections because they create opportunities for corruption.
Under the system, clan representatives elect lawmakers, who then choose the president. The president, in turn, has been responsible for appointing Mogadishu’s mayor.
The vote in Mogadishu, a city of some 3 million people where security conditions have improved in recent years despite continuing attacks by Al-Qaeda-linked al Shabab militants, is seen as a test run for direct elections at the national level.
Around 1,605 candidates are running on Thursday for 390 posts in Mogadishu’s district councils, said Abdishakur Abib Hayir, a member of the National Electoral Commission. Council members will then choose a mayor.
“It shows Somalia is standing on its feet and moving forward,” Hayir told Reuters. “After the local election, elections can and will take place in the entire country.”
A 2024 law restored universal suffrage ahead of federal elections expected next year. However, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud reached a deal in August with some opposition leaders stipulating that while lawmakers would be directly elected in 2026, the president would still be chosen by parliament.
Opposition parties have argued the rapid introduction of a new electoral system would benefit Mohamud’s re-election prospects.
They also question whether the country is safe enough for mass voting given Al-Shabab’s control over vast areas of the countryside and regular strikes on major population centers.
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