Sharjah24 – Reuters: Australia's daily COVID-19 cases hit a record high for the third consecutive day on Wednesday, further straining hospital resources and testing facilities as public anger grows over the handling of the fast-moving Omicron outbreak.
Many Australians, already unhappy about long queues at public testing centres and a shortage of at-home tests, were further incensed when news broke that tennis world number one Novak Djokovic had been given a medical exemption to enter the country.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison, under pressure at the start of an election year, has sought to reassure voters that his centre-right Liberal-National Party coalition has the situation under control, while keeping tight control on the purse strings.
"There are no silver bullets here," Morrison told reporters ahead of a meeting of national cabinet, the group of federal and state and territory leaders tasked with handling the pandemic.
"You've just got to work the problem, work it together and push through."
Officials reported a record 64,758 new cases on Wednesday, the majority in New South Wales and Victoria, the country's most populous states. With only Western Australia to report, that easily exceeded Tuesday's national tally of around 47,800.
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