Here's a quick wrap of the COVID-19 news and case numbers from each Australian jurisdiction for the past week, as reported on Friday, March 17, 2023.
The states and territories are now reporting their COVID-19 statistics weekly instead of through the daily updates that were provided from the early days of the pandemic.
- New South Wales
- Victoria
- Northern Territory
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Australian Capital Territory
- Tasmania
- Western Australia
News you may have missed
- China will start reissuing all categories of visas to foreigners from Wednesday, dropping the final cross-border control measure it imposed three years ago to guard against the spread of COVID-19. Read the full story here.
- It's been three years since a state of emergency was declared in Western Australia as the novel coronavirus began to send shock waves around the world. View the picture essay here.
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How are you dealing with the "new normal" as Australia transitions to living with COVID-19? We want to hear from you.
New South Wales
The state has recorded 8,905 more COVID-19 cases, up from 7,871 last week.
There are 834 cases in hospital, 13 of those are in intensive care.
There were 22 new deaths announced today.
Victoria
There have been another 3,960 COVID-19 cases, up from 3,319 last week.
There are 114 cases in hospital, with four of those in intensive care.
There were 29 new deaths announced today.
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory has recorded 164 new COVID-19 cases.
There are four cases in hospital.
No new deaths have been reported.
Queensland
There have been 3,049 new COVID-19 cases reported in Queensland this week.
There are 247 people in hospital with the virus, three of them in intensive care.
Queensland has reported 17 deaths this week.
South Australia
There have been 2,347 new cases recorded this week in SA.
There are 59 patients in hospital with three in intensive care.
South Australia has reported eight new deaths.
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory has recorded 516 new cases this week.
There are 14 people in hospital.
One new death has been recorded.
Tasmania
Tasmania has recorded 722 new COVID-19 cases this week.
Statewide, there are 14 cases in hospital.
One new death has been reported.
Western Australia
WA Health is reporting a total of 2,625 new cases in the past week.
There is a total of 59 people with COVID-19 in hospital. One is in the ICU.
This week’s report includes 29 deaths.
One thing to know: Chronic fatigue syndrome and long COVID have similarities
In a world-first study, Queensland researchers have identified similar changes in brain structure among people who have long COVID and chronic fatigue syndrome.
Griffith University scientists used a high-powered magnetic resonance imaging scanner to compare the brains of 28 adults.
Eight had long COVID, 10 people had been diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and 10 were healthy volunteers.
The researchers — from Griffith's National Centre for Neuroimmunology and Emerging Diseases — found the brain stem was significantly larger in long COVID patients and those with ME/CFS, compared to people who had never been diagnosed with either ailment.
One more thing: US House backs COVID origins bill
The US House of Representatives has voted unanimously to declassify intelligence information about the origins of COVID-19, a sweeping show of bipartisan support near the third anniversary of the start of the deadly pandemic.
That bill — which the US Senate passed by unanimous consent on March 1 — now goes to the White House for President Joe Biden to sign into law or to veto.
Amid calls from both Democrats and Republicans to push back harder against a rising China, Washington has been conducting a highly politicised debate about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic almost since the first human cases were reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.
That debate was refuelled last month, when the Wall Street Journal first reported that the US Energy Department had concluded the pandemic likely arose from a Chinese laboratory leak, an assessment Beijing denies.
