Australia’s New South Wales sets record for new COVID cases

Australia’s New South Wales state has recorded 1,742 new cases of COVID-19, its highest daily total since the pandemic began. Hospitalizations are also up across the state. There were 192 coronavirus patients in New South Wales hospitals on Thursday, up from 166 the day before. Of those, 26 were in intensive care. The previous peak for new infections in one day in Australia’s most populous state was 1,599 on September 11. The state’s Health Minister Brad Hazzard on Wednesday said cases are doubling every two to three days. Modeling at the University of New South Wales forecasts up to 25,000 cases per day by the end of January.