On Tuesday, Australia reported at least 55 COVID-19 deaths, including 20 in New South Wales (NSW), 16 in Victoria and 15 in Queensland.
The daily new cases and hospitalisations have risen across Australian states and territories.
Check the latest COVID-19 trends for new cases, hospitalisations and deaths in Australia .
A cruise ship with COVID-19 infected passengers and crew is currently en route to the Port of Eden on the South Coast of NSW from Brisbane in Queensland. The vessel is expected to arrive in Sydney on Wednesday.
NSW Health said a small number of passengers have COVID-19 infection on the Coral Princess. The passengers may have had the infection before boarding the vessel and subsequently tested positive.
It said most reported infections are among crew members. Authorities said all passengers disembarking in the state will be requested to return a negative RAT result first. The crew will not disembark.
NSW and Victoria have accepted the advice from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee in reducing the reinfection period from 12 weeks to 28 days. Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory were the first to accept the advice on Monday.
Residents who test positive for COVID-19 after 28 days of their previous infection will now be counted as new cases in these states.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said BA.4 and BA.5, the two new sub-lineages of the Omicron variant, can evade immunity from the previous infection and vaccination within weeks after a prior infection.
Victoria reported a 53 per cent increase in the number of people with COVID-19 in hospitals over the past two weeks. Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said new subvariants are expected to continue to drive new infections, reinfections and hospital admissions.
The state government has announced another round of the Small Business Ventilation Grant Program to help businesses invest in equipment that will keep their workers and customers safe indoors.
Minister Thomas said there are no changes to current face mask rules in the state. She, however, urged employers to consider working from home arrangements for their employees. She also encouraged residents to wear face masks indoors.
ACT Chief Health Officer Kerryn Coleman said the daily case numbers are expected to peak in late July or early August. She said the ACT could witness up to 3,000 daily new cases.
Ms Coleman said they were not planning to reintroduce the mask mandate.
Australia's Chief Medical Officer, Prof Paul Kelly, told ABC TV that some states could postpone elective surgeries amidst the growing number of COVID-19 and influenza cases.
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