NSW Covid deaths continue despite a drop in hospitalisations
NSW's Covid-19 deaths continue to mount, with a further 25 fatalities announced on Thursday.
It takes the number of deaths in the past 72 hours for the state to 93.
There were a further 30,825 new cases reported in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, down from the 32,297 reported a day earlier.
Both hospitalisations and people in ICU dropped, with those figures standing at 2,781 and 212 respectively.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said the rising number of deaths was a "difficult reality" on Wednesday.
But he said while the health system was under pressure, the state was tracking better than expected.
Victoria reported 21,966 new Covid-19 cases and a further 15 deaths on Thursday.
Major breakthrough for Covid pills
On Thursday, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) confirmed it has provisionally approved the use of two oral Covid-19 treatments.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration has granted provisional approval to the Pfizer-made Paxlovid, along with Lagevrio, made by pharmaceutical company Merck Sharp and Dohme.
The treatments will be able to be used in adults with COVID-19 who do not require additional oxygen but are at risk of hospitalisation or death from the virus.
The Paxlovid pill has been described as a "game changer" in the US.
"We have a lot of powerful tools to understand how viruses work, and once we understand how they work, we target various aspects of their [the virus's] life cycle to make new drugs," Dr Patrick Jackson from the University of Virginia's Infectious Disease Division told 13News Now.
"I think it really has potential to be a game changer."
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