COVID-19 updates: All the Australia news you need in one place

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Mask rules have changed and restrictions have been updated in some states and territories.

Keep up to date with all the COVID-19 news from across Australia.

Here are the numbers at a glance. Go to your state or territory for more information:

Australian Capital Territory

Today is the first full day of easing mask restrictions in the nation’s capital.

The changes at 6 p.m. Friday provide that masks are only required in certain situations, including on public transport, for those who work or visit indoor spaces in schools or childcare centers and hospitals and elderly care.

Students in grades 7-12 must also wear masks when inside the school.

It is also now mandatory for Canberrans to register a positive rapid antigen test with ACT Health.

The ACT reported 478 new cases of COVID-19.

There are 41 people in hospital with the virus, including two in intensive care.

More than 66% of Canberrans over the age of 16 have now received three doses of a vaccine.

New South Wales

Falling hospitalizations have resulted in non-elective surgery approaching pre-pandemic levels in New South Wales.

Non-elective surgery requiring an overnight stay was suspended in January. However, as of Monday, these procedures are expected to reach 85% of pre-pandemic levels in private hospitals.

In public hospitals, the same category of surgery is expected to reach 75% of pre-pandemic levels.

New South Wales today reported 11 deaths and 1,130 people hospitalized with the virus, including 59 in intensive care.

There were 7,017 new confirmed cases during the reporting period, including 4,396 from rapid antigen tests and 2,621 PCR results.

North territory

The NT has recorded one new COVID-related death – an octogenarian woman from Alice Springs.

The woman had underlying medical conditions and died in Alice Springs Hospital, the NT Government said in a statement.

There have now been 21 recorded COVID-19 related deaths in the Northern Territory.

The number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals in the Northern Territories fell to 98, from 101 on Friday. Seven patients are in intensive care.

queensland

Queensland recorded eight COVID-related deaths in the last reporting period. Five of them were in care for the elderly.

Statewide, 4,838 new cases have been reported, including about 1,600 school-aged children.

There are 341 people in hospital with the virus in Queensland, including 25 in intensive care.

Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said COVID-19 hospitalizations continued to decline.

southern australia

Hospitality business owners are now welcoming more people indoors, following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

The new rules allow pubs, bars and cafes to operate at 75% increased capacity with seated consumption, up from the previous limit of 50%.

Singing, dancing and drinking while standing are also permitted at private functions.

Licensees told the ABC they hope the eased restrictions will lead to improved sales.

South Australia reported 1,688 new cases on Saturday, bringing the number of active cases in the state to 15,353.

No new deaths were reported.

There are 109 people in hospital, including 12 in intensive care.

Tasmania

Tasmania has recorded 792 new cases of COVID-19, down from 851 yesterday.

Ten people are currently in hospital with the virus, four are being treated specifically for COVID symptoms and two people remain in intensive care.

There are now 4,731 active cases in the state.

Victoria

Victoria’s restrictions eased overnight, meaning masks are no longer mandatory in most indoor settings and the government’s work-from-home recommendation has come to an end.

Meanwhile, the number of international students in Victoria is slowly increasing after being decimated by the pandemic.

Data from the city of Melbourne shows that in the last two months the number of international students has increased by more than 16,000. However, it was still down 44% from pre-COVID levels.

More than 150,000 international students lived in Victoria before the pandemic, contributing $13.7 billion a year to the state’s economy.

Victoria reported a further 15 deaths from COVID-19 and 5,874 cases on Saturday.

There are 281 COVID-19 patients in Victorian hospitals, down from 301 reported on Friday, including 43 patients in intensive care.

Western Australia

In Western Australia, businesses are being asked to help with contact tracing efforts as the number of cases in the state rises.

The state reported 1,098 new local cases of COVID-19 and seven travel-related cases Saturday.

The new cases include 422 self-reported positive rapid antigen tests.

There are 15 people hospitalized.

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