More than 260 of the cases were from the 25-39 age demographic, accounting for 29 per cent of new cases.

During the week ending April 10, 810 reported cases of COVID-19 were linked to 115 ACT schools.

There were 61 people with COVID-19 in Canberra hospitals at the latest reporting period, one fewer than the day before.

There are two people in intensive care and both are being ventilated. This is the same as the day before.

ACT Health has not provided an age breakdown or the vaccination status of those in hospital.

The total number of active cases in the territory has now reached 5809.

With the looming winter threat of a surge of both COVID-19 and influenza, health experts have criticised the way the federal government has shifted its reporting on the virus.

For many months, government and public health officials have instructed the community to focus not on COVID-19 case numbers, but on lives lost to the deadly disease.

University of Melbourne epidemiologist Nancy Baxter has warned it would have the effect of "masking" the true impact of the virus on the community.

"It will make COVID less salient in the community's mind - which is fine if the aim is to have no one paying attention to COVID, but what it won't do is change the fact people are dying or emerging with long COVID every day and that we could be preventing that," Professor Baxter said.

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It's a view shared by Burnet Institute epidemiologist Mike Toole, who said the shift would collapse the ability of government to respond to waves of transmission in real time.

"It's inconsistent with long-standing principles of epidemiological response," he said. "You gather real time data so you can make real time responses on that data."

Daily COVID-19 case numbers in Australia appear to be on a downward trend this week although NSW was still racking up counts above 10,000.

The total number of new infections dropped for a fourth consecutive day on Monday, with 41,806 new infections and five deaths recorded across the nation.

- with AAP

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