Australia reports record number of Covid cases for 5th straight day

Canberra, Jan 7 For a fifth consecutive day, Australia on Friday reported a record number of daily Covid-19 cases amid an unabated resurgence fuelled by the Omicron variant, according to health authorities.

With more than 78,000 Covid cases, the country's overall infection tally increased to 762,458, reports Xinhua news agency.

Six of Australia's eight states and territories reported record numbers of infections on Friday, with Victoria and Western Australia the only exceptions.

New South Wales led all jurisdictions with a record high of 38,625 cases, while for the first time the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) recorded a four-digit increase of daily cases.

A total of 1,246 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in the ACT on Friday.

The Northern Territory (NT), which entered a snap lockout on Thursday whereby unvaccinated people are subject to strict lockdown rules, reported 412 new cases on Friday, setting a new record for the third consecutive day.

The country's death toll stood at 2,321.

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