NSW has recorded 2,482 new COVID-19 cases, the most daily infections reported by any Australian state or territory since the pandemic began, and the majority of them are "likely" Omicron cases.
Health authorities announced the national daily case record on Saturday from 137,149 tests, beating the previous mark of 2297 set by Victoria on 14 October.
The state also recorded one further virus-related death in the 24 hours to 8pm, an unvaccinated woman in her 60s from the northern tablelands region who died at St Vincent's Hospital.
The Omicron variant has now been confirmed in 226 cases, but NSW Health says the variant "likely accounts for the majority" of the new cases reported on Saturday.
It will be impossible to tell exactly how many.
The recent spike in case numbers, up from 260 on 7 December, has yet to translate into many more intensive care patients.
Meanwhile, Premier Dominic Perrottet is urging "perspective" as he faces pressure to reintroduce restrictions amid the record high numbers a week out from Christmas.
The state also recorded 2,213 cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Thursday, with the current numbers now four times those seen just a week ago.
However Mr Perrottet appears determined to hold his course and encourage individual responsibility rather than reimpose restrictions like mandatory masks in retail settings.
"It is obviously going to be a challenging time. We accept that," he told reporters on Friday.
"But we need perspective.
"Our number one focus is to keep people safe, to keep hospitalisations and ICU numbers down."
Some 215 people were listed as being in hospital with the virus on Friday, a rise on 23 from the previous day.
Intensive care numbers have remained fairly steady for weeks. There were 24 patients in ICUs on Friday and eight requiring ventilation.
Deputy Premier Paul Toole on Friday said the government would keep an eye on the numbers and continue to look at advice.
Rules around masks will be a conversation the government will "continue to have in the coming days and weeks".
But he said, "we are sticking with our road map at this point in time".
Individuals can make the decision to wear masks if they are in high-risk areas, Mr Toole said.
He made it clear the government was not looking at imposing a localised lockdown on Newcastle, despite a huge surge in infections.
Thirty per cent of the new cases - a total of 674 - were reported in the Hunter New England Local Health District on Friday.
Cars lining up at the St Vincents Hospital drive-through testing clinic at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Friday, 17 December, 2021. Source: AAP
Instead, the fully vaccinated will be required to be tested within 24 hours of arrival and isolate until they receive a negative result.
It comes as Victoria has reported 1504 new COVID-19 infections and another seven deaths, as authorities probe whether infected Melbourne nightclub goers have the Omicron variant.
The health department confirmed on Saturday the state is now managing 13,443 active infections.
There are 384 patients in hospital, 84 of whom are actively infected with the virus in intensive care and 43 on ventilators.
The seven-day hospitalisation average has risen by two to 368.
Testers processed 88,083 results on Friday, while 12,268 people were vaccinated in state-run hubs.
At least 19 confirmed Omicron infections have been detected in Victoria to date, with another six reported on Friday.
Of the new variant cases, five were detected in arrivals from NSW and one was a recent international arrival.
Genomic sequencing has confirmed an Omicron case is among 28 infections linked to two Melbourne nightclubs.
Health authorities are determining if any of the other cases, which include 16 who visited the Peel Hotel and 12 who visited Sircuit Bar, have the new variant.
Meanwhile, a COVID-19 vaccine booster blitz is underway in Melbourne this weekend after the government announced it would ramp up capacity at state-run clinics and keep major hubs open to help "turbo-charge" the rollout.
Queensland reports 31 cases as mask mandate enforced
Queensland has recorded 24 new local COVID-19 cases, with the state refusing to blink at the spike in infections after reopening its border.
On top of the locally acquired cases, a further five were detected among interstate travellers and two from overseas arrivals who tested positive in hotel quarantine in Cairns.
Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said some of the 31 total cases were staff or visitors in health settings, including Brisbane's North West Private and Princess Alexandra hospitals, an aged care facility in Mackay and at least one GP in Brisbane.
He moved to reassure the community it wasn't unexpected and is likely to frequently occur in coming weeks and months after the state opened to fully vaccinated travellers from NSW and Victoria on Monday.
"There are thousands of healthcare workers in Queensland, so it is inevitable that some of them will get infected," he told reporters in Brisbane on Saturday.
"All of our healthcare workers are vaccinated and all of our healthcare workers wear masks when in the clinical environment.
"The risk to patients is minimised, but it does emphasise the need for all of us to get vaccinated."
It is unknown whether any of the latest cases have the Omicron variant, with genomic sequencing expected to take one to two days, but 12 cases of the new strain have now been confirmed in Queensland.
"We expect the Omicron strain to become dominant in Queensland in the coming weeks," Dr Gerrard said.
The jump in cases has not spooked Queensland health authorities into considering slamming the border shut again.
"It changes nothing at all," Dr Gerrard said.
"We're expecting to see thousands of cases in NSW and across Australia, and ultimately Queensland. We have no plans, no intentions of closing any borders."
Saturday marked the first day of Queensland's new face mask mandate, which made them mandatory in essential retailers and on public transport.
Four cases in four days in Tasmania
A fourth person has tested positive for COVID-19 in Tasmania, four days into the island's reopening.
The latest case is a teenager who flew to Launceston from NSW on Thursday.
He was tested after NSW Health notified him he had been at an exposure site, but before the notification arrived he visited a cafe and a JB Hi-Fi store on Thursday afternoon.
Those two venues are now exposure sites, along with Launceston Airport baggage carousel.
Close contacts on board the man's flight and people who checked in to the venues he visited around the same time have been contacted by Tasmanian public health services.
Two other confirmed cases are linked to an early Wednesday morning Qantas flight from Sydney, one of the first planes to land after the border reopened.
Another person who was confirmed positive on Friday flew from Melbourne on Wednesday afternoon.
State Public Health director Mark Veitch said two new cases on Friday had very little interaction with the community and went to get tested soon after being told they had been at an exposure site.
People arrived at Hobart Airport on Wednesday, December 15, 2021 after 22 months locked out. Source: AAP
Recent arrivals from Newcastle are being contacted after the first three cases were linked to superspreader events in the town.
Positive wastewater samples have been collected from Norwood in Launceston, where there are no known cases.
Anyone in the area is advised to get tested immediately if they experience any symptoms, no matter how mild.
South Australia reports 73 new cases
South Australia has recorded 73 new coronavirus infections amid a growing outbreak, posting record numbers for the second consecutive day.
On Friday the state recorded 64 cases, a brief all-time high for the state's daily case total that was eclipsed within 24 hours.
The first case of the outbreak was reported on November 24, and since then there have been 293 more cases recorded.
Prior to the outbreak, South Australia had recorded less than a thousand cases throughout the entire pandemic, and now has a total of 1216.
The new cases include 11 children and two teenagers along with 60 adults aged between 18 and 74.
One acquired their infection overseas and 29 others from known positive cases in South Australia.
Two became infected interstate, four caught coronavirus in South Australia but authorities don't know where or who from, and 37 other cases are still being investigated.
Two men, one in his 30s, the other his 60s, are in the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
