Two people in their 20s die with Covid as 'final surge begins'
Two people in their 20s have died with Covid in NSW and Queensland.
A man in his 20s was among the 20 Covid-related fatalities in NSW in the past 24 hours to 8pm on Saturday as more than 48,000 new cases were recorded in the state.
The man died at Albury Base Hospital and had received two doses of the Covid vaccine and had "serious underlying health conditions", NSW Health said.
Of those who died, three people were aged in their 50s, one person was aged in their 60s, four people were in their 70s, nine people were in their 80s and two people were in their 90s.
Sixteen people were vaccinated and four people were not vaccinated.
Second person in their 20s dies with Covid in Queensland
A second person in their 20s was one of six patients who died with Covid in Queensland.
Health Minister Yvette D'Ath made the announcement alongside 19,709 new daily cases on Saturday.
Chief Health Officer John Gerrard added one person who died was in their 70s, two in their 80s and two in their 90s.
"All of these people had received the vaccine," he said.
"It is a reminder even the vaccinated can get severe disease, particularly if you have underlying medical issues.
"All of these individuals had significant underlying medical problems."
Dr Gerrard did not provide any more details about their conditions "out of respect for the families".
Both the minister and the CHO expressed their condolences.
Beginning of Covid peak's 'final surge'
On Saturday 649 people were in hospital with Covid, with 46 in intensive care and of those patients 14 were ventilated.
"There was an increase in cases in Queensland hospitals of 10 per cent in the 24 hours leading up to 7pm last night," Dr Gerrard said.
"You may recall on Friday the number was 589 in hospital and 41 in intensive care.
"Although this is one day, it is what we expected and we need to look for a trend, but it is quite likely that we will continue to see this increase over the next two to three weeks.
"This is what we've been projecting and there's a good chance this is the beginning of the final surge before we reach a peak in the next two weeks."
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