NSW Health’s respiratory surveillance report for the week ending November 25 showed that COVID-19 cases had risen by 15 per cent on the previous week, with 32,928 diagnoses.
Testing rates also rose, with PCR tests up 8.9 per cent.
And the proportion of positive PCR tests rose to 19 per cent, compared to 17 per cent the week before.
“While hospitalisations and ICU admissions decreased this week, there were increases in the number of people notified with COVID-19 and in the proportion of PCR tests that are positive,” NSW Health said in a tweet.
“This indicates ongoing high levels of transmission in the community.”
Experts and health authorities have previously said case numbers are likely higher than what has been reported, with compulsory registration no longer in force.
There is no dominant variant driving the spike in case numbers.
Both BA.2 and BA.5 sub-variants are being commonly detected, NSW Health said.
There were 609 people admitted to hospital with COVID-19 this week, bringing the seven-day rolling average down from 89 to 87.
The subvariants and mutations of COVID-19
But emergency presentations for people with COVID-19 rose week-to-week from 321 to 374.
There were 25 COVID-19 deaths reported during the week. Six of the victims had not received three doses of the vaccine.
Three deaths were in people aged under 65.
