Australia’s New South Wales sets new daily COVID case record

SYDNEY (AP) — Australia’s most populous state has reported a record number of new COVID-19 cases and a sharp jump in hospitalizations while thousands of people isolated at home after contracting the virus or coming into contact with someone who has. New South Wales reported 6,394 new infections on Sunday, up from 6,288 a day earlier. Case numbers in the state have surged over the past two weeks but hospitalizations have lagged behind new infections. More than 70 percent of cases in some Australian states are the omicron variant of the coronavirus but New South Wales does not routinely carry out genome testing to identify the variant. State Health Minister Brad Hazzard indicated Sunday that omicron is widespread.