Australia reports another surge in COVID deaths as schools return

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Australia reports another surge in COVID deaths as schools return

Australia COVID 19 deaths rise as return to school threatens new Omicron peak.

Australia recorded another surge in COVID 19 deaths on Monday January 24 as an outbreak of the highly contagious Omicron variant peaked, and authorities warned that numbers could increase when schools return from end-of-year holidays next week.

Australia is trying to balance the high number of deaths and cases of the pandemic after two years of movement restrictions.

A vaccine booster will reduce deaths and point to a stabilisation in hospitalisation numbers as a sign that the flare-up has reached its worst, according to authorities.

The country reported 56 deaths on Monday, most of them in its three most populous states - New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland - slightly down from the previous day's count of 58 but still among the highest of the pandemic.

The total number of new cases, 37,754, was well below peaks three times that amount earlier this month, although four other states and territories were yet to report figures.

Our assessment indicates that the spread of COVID is slowing, our situation is stabilising and while we expect to see an increase in transmissions associated with schools going back, this may be mitigated by the actions of you as individuals, NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant told a news conference.

She said that boosters will help us.

More than nine in 10 Australians aged over 12 have had two doses of the coronaviruses vaccine -- a statistic health experts say has kept the country's death rate relatively low - but far fewer have had a third dose that is seen as a guard against Omicron.

Most Australian states are resisting a return to the lock-down, but most have introduced social distancing measures and mandatory mask-wearing to slow transmission. They are divided on whether and how to return to school after long periods of remote learning.

Students in NSW and Victoria will have to wear masks and receive regular rapid antigen tests when they return to in-person classes next week. The return to school was postponed on February 7 to avoid a spike in transmission.

Queensland chief health officer John Gerrard warned of a possible extension of the peak when schools return, and said the peak does not mean the end.