The latest COVID-19 wave shows no sign of ending, with weekly case figures rising in each jurisdiction and jumping 20 per cent in NSW and Victoria.
This week, 37,796 people in NSW were diagnosed with the virus, 6000 more than last week, while Victoria's weekly total of almost 27,000 was 5000 up on the previous seven days.
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It builds on the increases recorded last week of 10 to 15 per cent.
Weekly case figures increased in every jurisdiction, more than doubling in the Northern Territory and rising from 2712 to 3957 in Tasmania.
A mixture of new Omicron sub-variants has been blamed for the spike in infections, as they are said to be more immune-evasive and are responding to waning immunity from past infection and past vaccination.
These sub-variants include the XBF recombinant strain (a combination of BA.2.75 and BA.5) and existing sub-variants BQ.1/BQ.1.1 and BA 2.75, along with the XBB recombinant.
A cruise ship carrying COVID-infected passengers on Thursday docked at Port Melbourne's Station Pier.
More than 2000 passengers disembarked from the Grand Princess cruise ship, where ambulances were on hand to transport several sick passengers to hospital.
It is unclear how many passengers were infected with the virus at the time of the ship's arrival but operator Princess Cruises said it was a small percentage.
About 95 per cent of passengers were required to show proof of vaccination and those who tested positive were forced to isolate for at least five days.
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said emergency services were at the port early on Thursday to provide support to passengers.
The Department of Health said there was no correlation between infections on cruise ships and a recent rise in case numbers.
LATEST FIGURES
* NSW - 37,796 cases, 32 deaths
* Victoria - 26,971 cases, 54 deaths
* WA - 11,762 cases, 14 deaths
* Queensland - 11,217 cases, 15 deaths
* SA - 9684 cases, 12 deaths
* ACT - 2239 cases, one death
* Tasmania - 3957 cases, five deaths
* NT - 750 cases, two deaths
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