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, November 25, 2022.
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
- Queensland
- Australian Capital Territory
- Western Australia
- South Australia
- Tasmania
- Northern Territory
New South Wales
The state has recorded 25 more COVID-19 deaths, down from 39 last week.
There are 31,531 new cases, an increase from 27,869 last week.
With 1,320 in hospital, there are 32 people with COVID-19 in intensive care.
Victoria
This week, Victoria recorded 22,281 new cases and 68 deaths. Last week there were 20,398 new cases and 46 deaths.
Unlike other states, Victoria records its hospitalisations and intensive-care admissions with a seven-day rolling daily average.
The state averaged 430 daily hospitalisations and 15 daily intensive care admissions.
Queensland
Queensland has recorded 10,082 new cases this week.
There have been 14 deaths in the latest reporting period.
As of November 23 there were 312 people in hospital with COVID-19, including eight people in intensive care.
Australian Capital Territory
The ACT has recorded 1,757 new cases in the latest reporting period.
No deaths were reported this week.
There are currently 34 people in hospital, with one person in the ICU.
Western Australia
WA has recorded 15 deaths dating back to October and 10,520 new cases of COVID-19.
There are 195 people in hospital, including 12 in ICU.
South Australia
SA has recorded 9,000 new cases of COVID-19 and eight deaths.
There are 140 people in hospital, including 11 in ICU.
Tasmania
Tasmania has recorded 2,712 new cases of COVID-19 and 49 hospitalisations.
Of those, 25 are being treated specifically for COVID, and two are in ICU.
Northern Territory
The Top End has recorded 329 new COVID-19 cases in the past week.
There are 15 people hospitalised with COVID-19 in the territory, with no new deaths reported.
News you may have missed
- RNA vaccines have risen to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, but we've only scratched the surface of their potential. Read the full analysis here
- COVID-19 deaths are higher among disadvantaged people and migrants, particularly Pacific Islanders. Read the full story here
- China's coronavirus cases spiked following the country's first COVID-related death in six months. You can read more here
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One thing to know: Long COVID symptoms are shifting as new variants bring new challenges
Under the broad "long COVID" umbrella, clusters of symptoms have emerged, and as the pandemic has worn on, those symptoms have changed.
Senior respiratory physiotherapist Janet Bondarenko has been working in Melbourne's Alfred Hospital post-COVID clinic since its doors opened two years ago.
"We saw a lot of breathlessness in people, and they could only manage walking a few metres at a time," Dr Bondarenko says.
"Then we started to see memory and concentration issues."
And while she still sees these symptoms in patients now, she also sees more people with heart-related symptoms.
Meanwhile: COVID cases at aged care homes in WA have tripled in the past two months
There were 322 cases of the virus at West Australian care homes last week — more than triple the 100 cases recorded two months earlier.
Figures from the Department of Health and Aged Care also show 54 WA facilities had outbreaks, compared with 25 at about the same time in September, and the number of cases in aged care staff has also doubled over the same period.
The spike in aged care home outbreaks follows a national trend that has seen the number of cases among residents across Australia jump from 960 in September to 2,155 last week.
One more thing: Cancelled Queensland COVID vaccine to be trialled in humans next year
The University of Queensland's vaccine had to be abandoned during the rush to develop an effective COVID-19 shot, but will now be trialled on people.
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has pledged up to $8.5 million to support further development of Clamp2 for use in the global response to future disease outbreaks.
"We never lost our belief that this was a technology that was needed to create vaccines and save lives," UQ molecular virologist Keith Chappell said.
"It's been a rollercoaster ride. We're riding high again and feeling really excited about what's to come."
