Australia's COVID-19 testing system overloads as Omicron escalates

(News 1st); COVID-19 in Australia rose to a pandemic record on Tuesday (4) with the Omicron Variant spreading at lightening speed across most of the nation. Pushing up the hospitalization rates as the once-formidable testing regime buckled under long wait times and stock scarcity.

For nearly one and a half years Australia utilized a procedure of constant testing, contact tracing and lockdowns to quell most outbreaks, recorded 47,799 new infections, up nearly a third on Monday's (3) number which was also a record.

However, hospitalizations, another closely watched measure, are higher than at any other time in the pandemic: 1,344 in the most populous state New South Wales, Foreign media reported.

In spite of the spike in infections fueled by Omicron, dual-dose vaccination levels of nearly 92% in people above 16 have assisted Australia to keep the death rate lower than the previous virus outbreaks.

The record spike in infections and hospitalizations comes as 2 million more Australians became eligible for their COVID-19 booster shots from Tuesday(4)  after authorities reduced the wait time between the second and third doses to four months.