Health officials will investigate why almost 2000 positive PCR test results were left out of the daily Covid reporting for weeks after they were processed.
NSW Health on Monday said the tests, which were taken from December 25 to January 6 in the Northern Sydney Local Health District, weren’t uploaded until Sunday.
“Investigations into this issue are under way and NSW Health anticipates there will be further historic uploads from the Northern Sydney LHD in coming days,” the health department said in a statement.
The missed PCR tests contxjmtzywributed to NSW’s 13,026 new Covid cases reported on Monday.
In the latest reporting period, 7362 infections were recorded from PCR tests and 5664 from rapid antigen tests.
Twenty-seven more people died with the virus.
There were 2779 people with the virus being treated in the state’s hospitals, with 185 in intensive care.
Hospitalisations and ICU presentations both increased from the day before when the numbers were 2633 and 182 respectively.
The Covid-19 update came on the day most NSW students return to classrooms.
Chief health officer Kerry Chant urged those who are eligible to get their third vaccine shot, especially those who are at higher risk of serious illness.
“I particularly want to make a call out for those with chronic underlying health conditions and for those that are elderly,” she said.
“I think as I tragically have read out the deaths that have occurred, you can see that there is a preponderance of people that are the elderly, and those with underlying health conditions and Covid will continue to impact on those individuals.”
Premier Dominic Perrottet defended his government’s pandemic management and said the high vaccination rates would help the state get through the Omicron wave.
“We’ve always known as we open up society that there’ll be an increase in hospitalisations and (intensive care unit admissions),” he said.
“The reality is, we can’t eliminate the virus … that is not this government’s strategy. That is not the national strategy.”
Sunday was the deadliest day for NSW during the pandemic, with 52 deaths.
Dr Chant said 31 of the 52 people who died were aged care residents.
She confirmed a new Omicron subvariant had been detected in NSW.
“At the moment we don’t see that it is presenting anything different clinically in terms of the severity or its response to vaccine, but we will obviously be watchful, monitor the situation closely,” she said.
