Health Minister Greg Hunt announces private hospitals will be treating Covid patients

Private hospitals will now be allowed to treat Covid patients as Australia’s daily Covid death toll reaches a new record.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said the surge in Omicron cases meant the pressure needed to be taken off the public hospital system.

With a record 74 Australians dying of Covid in one day, the federal government is activating an agreement reached with the states and territories in early 2020, during the early stages of the pandemic.

‘The states and territories will where necessary work directly with the staff and with the hospitals themselves, whether it’s the large part of the private hospital networks and it will be up to the states and territories to activate those,’ Mr Hunt said.

Under the plan, 57,000 nurses and more than 100,000 staff will be made available to treat Omicron patients across Australia.

‘Firstly, we are activating the private hospitals agreement,’ Mr Hunt said.

‘This agreement was established over the course of late March and early April in 2020. 

‘And it was designed for supporting state hospital systems add any time where they may have significant numbers.’

Under the new plan, private hospital staff will also be directed to aged care homes should outbreaks occur.

‘We have activated them at the Commonwealth end and any aged care facilities that will require that additional workforce,’ Mr Hunt said.

‘It’s one of five that are available for work – actions that are available for workforce support.’

Australia has suffered its worst day for Covid deaths since the start of pandemic with 74 people losing their lives so far.

Australia has suffered its worst day for Covid deaths since the start of pandemic with 74 people losing their lives so far (pictured are health staff at a testing clinic at Albert Park in Melbourne)

A record 36 people died on Monday in New South Wales after testing positive to Covid, while 22 died in Victoria and another record 16 in Queensland.

The combined total smashed the pandemic record of 59 that was set on September 4, 2020, with other states and territories still to report their own casualties.

The youngest of the NSW fatalities was aged in their 40s while all but three were over-65 on what NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet described as a difficult day for NSW.

There was barely any change in new cases as health authorities and experts believe the Omicron wave has peaked in NSW and Victoria.

Greg Hunt said 57,000 nurses and more than 100,000 staff will be made available to treat Omicron patients across Australia (pictured is a paramedic outside St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne)