Australia reports an uptick in Covid cases as it nears peak of current wave

Australia has reported a small uptick in active Covid-19 cases as the country nears the peak of its fourth wave of infections, the Department of Health said on Driday.

According to the Department data, there were an average of 11,953 new cases recorded daily in the week to Friday, reports Xinhua news agency.

It represents an increase of 10 per cent from the previous week -- a significantly smaller increase than in early and mid-November.

On average there were 2,242 Australians with coronavirus being treated in hospital over the last seven days -- up from 1,973 of the previous week - and there were more than 100 deaths.

In South Australia (SA), chief health officer Nicola Spurrier said she believes SA is approaching the peak of the current wave after cases increased by 3 per cent in the last week.

"We are getting towards the peak. Until we see those case numbers come down I can't officially tell you we're at the peak, but we're certainly at that top-end plateau," she told reporters.

"We are very hopeful that we will be on the other side of that wave well before Christmas, so we can all enjoy a healthy Christmas."

--IANS

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