January 14, 2022: Hospitalisations climbing in Western NSW as Omicron rips through Orange

By Peter Holmes

Thirty people were in hospital with Covid in the Western NSW Local Health District in the 24 hours to 8pm on Thursday, up from 23 the day prior.

None had been admitted to intensive care.

Up to 8pm last night there were 261 new cases identified by PCR testing in the Western NSW Local Health District.

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Orange had 143 cases, however the official number is expected to be higher, as many people are now using rapid antigen tests (RATs) and, if positive, isolating at home.

Although the NSW government is including RATs in its statewide figures, a breakdown of results for each district is not available.

Twenty-nine people died across the state in the 24-hour period.

The number of positive cases in NSW for the 24-hour period was 63,018. This was made up of 37,938 RATs and 25,080 PCR tests.

However, of the 37,938 positive RAT results, 24,329 were from the previous seven days.