Key Points
- Australia secures 450,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine
- National cabinet discusses current COVID-19, monkeypox and foot and mouth disease situations
- A 20 per cent weekly increase in new COVID-19 cases in the Western Pacific Region, which includes Australia, Japan and Korea
On Thursday, Australia reported at least 85 COVID-19 deaths, including 33 in New South Wales (NSW), 31 in Queensland and nine in Victoria.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese chaired a virtual meeting of the national cabinet to review the current COVID-19, monkeypox (MPX) and foot and mouth disease situations in the country.
Health Minister Mark Butler said data shows the current Omicron may have peaked early in the country, but they are still not calling it. He said the school holidays could be a reason for the decline in new infections.
Mr Butler informed the federal government has secured 450,000 doses of the new third-generation monkeypox virus vaccine. The first batch of 220,000 doses will arrive this week.
He said states and territories will shortly receive these vaccines and manage the rollout.
Mr Butler said they are forming a National MPXV Taskforce to provide leadership and policy advice on community engagement.
Dr Noam Peleg, a senior lecturer at UNSW's Faculty of Law & Justice, said the NSW government's decision not to replace COVID-19 fines - issued to about 3,000 children for breach of rules - with caution could violate the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child.
"The fines themselves are a violation of the Convention on the Rights of a Child," Dr Peleg said.
"And working orders directed at children are a second, consequential, violation. NSW government measures are far from compatible with international best practices."
The current Omicron wave in NSW has peaked, and hospitalisations have plateaued, the NSW Health said in its latest weekly report on Thursday.
The global COVID-19 infections declined by nine per cent last week compared to the week before, the World Health Organization said in its latest report.
However, the new weekly cases increased by 20 per cent in the Western Pacific Region, which includes Australia, Japan and Korea.
Japan, the US, Korea, Germany and Italy reported the highest weekly global cases.
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