CANBERRA – Australia’s coronavirus death toll for 2021 has surpassed that of 2020 as the country continues to battle the third wave of infections.
Australia on Monday (Nov. 8) morning reported more than 1,300 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases and 12 deaths, taking the nation’s pandemic death toll to 1827.
Of those, 918 have occurred in 2021 compared to 909 in 2020.
New South Wales (NSW), Australia’s most populous state with Sydney as the capital city, has accounted for 544 – or 59% – of COVID-19 deaths in 2021.
By comparison, more than 90% of Australia’s coronavirus deaths in 2020 were in Victoria, the country’s second-most populous state with Melbourne as the capital city.
According to federal government data, 35% of Australians who died with COVID-19 were in their 80s, 23% in their 90s, and 20% in their 70s.
The majority of new cases reported on Monday were in Victoria, where 1,126 cases and five deaths were recorded.
Australia on Monday started its COVID-19 booster vaccination program, with anyone aged 18 and over who had their second dose at least six months ago eligible for a third shot.
So far about 89.3% of Australians aged 16 and over had received one vaccine dose and 80.5% were fully inoculated, according to the Department of Health.
Greg Hunt, the minister of health, said that in the context of boosters, it is important that people know that two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine provide very good protection, especially against severe disease.
“A booster dose, six or more months after the second dose, will make sure that the protection from the first doses is even stronger and longer lasting and should help prevent spread of the virus,” he said in a statement. (Xinhua) – bny
