NSW latest Covid update as at 24 February

Across NSW, more than 95 per cent of people aged 16 and over have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 94.3 per cent have received two doses to Tuesday 22 February.

  • Of children aged 12 to 15, 83.6 per cent have received a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and 79 per cent have received two doses.
  • Of children aged 5 to 11, 47 per cent have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
  • Of people aged 16 plus, 52.6 per cent have now received a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. This represents 56.6 per cent of the eligible population that received their second dose more than three months ago.

The total number of vaccines administered in NSW is now 16,740,859, with 4,900,617 doses administered by NSW Health to 8pm last night and 11,840,242 administered by the GP network, pharmacies and other providers to 11:59pm on Tuesday 22 February.

NSW Health encourages everyone who is eligible to receive a vaccination or their booster dose to book into a NSW Health vaccination clinic or another provider without delay through the COVID-19 vaccine clinic finder.

Sadly, NSW Health is reporting the deaths of 12 people with COVID-19; seven men and five women.

Five people were aged in their 70s, five people were in their 80s, one person was in their 90s and one person was aged over 100. Older age is a significant risk factor for serious illness and death for COVID-19, particularly when combined with significant underlying health conditions.

One person had received three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, eight people had received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and three people were not vaccinated.

Three people were from south western Sydney, two people were from western Sydney, one person was from south eastern Sydney, one person was from the Newcastle area, one person was from the Central Coast, one person was from Grafton, one person was from the Inverell area, one person was from the Moree area and one person was from Queanbeyan.

NSW Health expresses its sincere condolences to their loved ones. This brings the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 1,873.

There are currently 1,211 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, including 59 people in intensive care, 27 of whom require ventilation.

There were 8,271 positive test results (cases) notified in the 24 hours to 4pm yesterday – including 5,250 positive rapid antigen tests (RATs) and 3,021 positive PCR tests. The 3,021 positive PCR results were returned from 37,655 PCR tests.

There has now been a total of 371,730 positive RATs recorded since reporting began on 13 January 2022.

Following further investigation, 25 COVID-19 cases detected by PCR tests have been excluded and 414 cases previously reported as RAT-positive have been confirmed as PCR-positive cases, bringing the total number of cases detected by PCR tests in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 913,382.

The NSW Sewage Surveillance Program tests sewage for fragments of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 at sewage treatment plants across NSW.

Before the Omicron wave, the program provided a valuable early warning system to support the NSW COVID response, particularly in regional communities. Now that COVID is widespread in the community, the focus of the program has changed from early warning to monitoring of trends to supplement information gathered through PCR and Rapid Antigen Testing (RAT).

Moving forward, the program will sample 22 sites throughout NSW on a weekly basis. Four sewage treatment plant sites in Greater Sydney and up to 18 regional locations will be monitored weekly for up to six months as sentinel sites. These sites will be used to monitor the rate of infection over time. They were selected for their population size, geographical spread, proximity to state borders and transport routes and for the presence of vulnerable communities. 

Cases confirmed by PCR test and registered as RAT positive in the 24 hours to 4pm 23 February 2022, by Local Health District

Local Health District Positive PCR testsPositive RATsTotal cases
Hunter New England 4507661,216
Western Sydney455499954
South Western Sydney347552899
Northern Sydney317498815
South Eastern Sydney308497805
Sydney276353629
Illawarra Shoalhaven221359580
Nepean Blue Mountains201292493
Western NSW113266379
Central Coast114241355
Murrumbidgee63261324
Northern NSW54237291
Southern NSW43164207
Mid North Coast14191205
Far West135063
Correctional settings10010
Under investigation 222446
Total3,0215,2508,271

COVID-19 vaccination update

NSW COVID-19 vaccination rateTotal* (ages 16 and over)Total* (ages 12-15)Total* (ages 5-11)
All providers – first doses> 95% 83.6%47%
All providers – second doses 94.3% 79%

0.9%

All providers – third doses (ages 16 and over) 52.6%n/a

n/a

* to 11:59pm 22 February 2022

COVID-19 vaccination doses administered by NSW HealthDoses past 24 hours*All doses
NSW Health – first doses156 2,305,879
NSW Health – second doses 1291,949,676
NSW Health – third doses2,096 645,062
Total2,381 4,900,617

* notified from 8pm 22 February 2022 to 8pm 23 February 2022.

Today’s video update

/Public Release. View in full here.