COVID case numbers drop in Canberra: 583 new infections, 82 in hospital

There were 583 new cases of COVID in the 24 hours to 8pm on Saturday. It's a considerable drop from the 822 new cases in the previous 24 hours.

ACT Health recorded the territory's 62^nd death of the pandemic on Saturday, with authorities reporting the death of a man in his 90s.

There are currently 82 in hospital, with two in intensive care and one on a ventilator. That's an increase of five hospitalisations from Saturday's figures.

There were 4978 active cases as of Saturday night.

There have now been 130,664 cases in the ACT throughout the pandemic.

Earlier in the week, the ACT chief health officer Kerryn Coleman rejected the reintroduction of a mask mandate, despite high rates of COVID, flu and respiratory illness among Canberrans.

Dr Coleman said while mask wearing would not be mandated, she encouraged Canberrans to wear face masks to help reduce the spread of illness over winter.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation announced the expansion of fourth vaccine eligibility this week.

COVID-19 deaths are again on the rise with Australia on track to record at least 80 fatalities over the weekend.

Victoria reported more than 7300 new virus cases and 16 deaths on Sunday, while NSW recorded more than 6500 infections and four deaths.

The nation reported 58 deaths along with almost 34,000 cases on Saturday.

There are currently almost 315,000 active COVID cases around the country, with more than 2700 patients recovering in hospitals.

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