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Here's a quick wrap of what's happening in COVID news across Australia.
You can jump to the COVID-19 stories you want to read by clicking below.
National cabinet agrees on new close contact definition
National leaders have signed off on a new definition of a COVID-19 close contact.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the a close contact will be classified as someone who has spent four hours or more with a confirmed case in a household or household-like setting.
Mr Morrison said the new definition would come into effect from Friday in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT.
Tasmania will follow on January 1, while the Northern Territory will make announcements about its plans in the coming days.
Mr Morrison said a close contact will need to isolate for seven days from the date of exposure, and take a rapid antigen test on day six.
Confirmed cases will also only need to isolate for seven days, and take a rapid antigen test on day six.
NSW records 12,226 cases, one death
New South Wales has recorded 12,226 cases, an increase from Wednesday's 11,201 cases.
One death has been counted in the reporting period, while hospitalisations are up to 746 from 625 people, with 63 patients currently in intensive care.
Victoria records 5,137 cases, 13 deaths
Victoria has confirmed an additional 5,137 daily cases and 13 deaths taking the total number of active cases in the state to 23,833.
There are currently 395 active cases in hospital, 55 of which are in intensive care. There are 23 people on a ventilator.
Queensland records 2,222 new cases
There are 29 people receiving treatment for COVID-19 in the state's hospitals.
There are still no patients in intensive care.
Another 1,809 people with COVID are receiving care at home.
South Australia records 1,374 new cases, COVID positive baby dies
A COVID-positive child under the age of two has died in South Australia as the state recorded 1,374 new cases on Thursday.
Premier Steven Marshall said 37 COVID-19 patients remain in hospital, including four people in intensive care.
Tasmania records 92 new cases
Tasmania has recorded 92 new cases and has patients in hospital with the virus for the first time since the borders opened to hotspots.
Three people are currently in hospital, one of whom was admitted for an unrelated medical issue.
There are now 386 active cases in the state.
The ACT cracks another daily record with 253 new cases
The old record was 252 new cases, but with one extra case, today's tally passed that record.
There are now 1,134 active cases of the virus in the territory.
Of those, six of those people are in hospital, but there aren't any patients are in intensive care.
The ACT's double-dose vaccination rate for people aged 12 and older is now 98.5 per cent.
Northern Territory considers changes for frontline close contacts
Chief Minister Michael Gunner says the NT is considering changes to isolation rules for frontline close contacts.
At a vaccination clinic in Darwin this morning, where he received his booster shot, Mr Gunner said he would take the discussions at national cabinet today on board but the Northern Territory would decide whether any changes proposed nationally would be implemented in the NT.
He said he was less concerned about the definition of close contacts than how they were handled.
"For example, if you look at a Woolies, which is very much on the front line, or a health clinic, it's on the front line — if you take people out possibly for seven days and isolate them you can run into [a] problem," he said.
He flagged the possibility of daily testing for frontline close contacts rather than isolation.
"We've got to make sure that we keep those businesses open and we keep doctors nurses police in the frontline," he said.
Western Australia classifies Qld, SA 'extreme risk'
Western Australia will tighten its borders with South Australia and Queensland from 6pm Thursday, WA time.
Those states will be reclassified as 'extreme risk', bringing them into line with New South Wales and Victoria.
Entry from those states will only be granted to some Commonwealth and state officials, members of parliament, diplomats, specialists, or others in extraordinary circumstances.
It comes as the state grapples with fears of the virus spreading to the state's southwest, as new exposure sites were released overnight.
Contact tracing in Torres Strait
Contact tracing is underway in the Torres Strait with eight new cases of COVID-19 detected on Thursday Island yesterday.
The island's double dose vaccination rate is currently at 76 per cent for residents over the age of 12.
There has been renewed concern for Queensland's Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal communities, with daily case numbers growing across the state.
Torres Shire Mayor Vonda Malone says few people expected coronavirus would reach the region so soon.
Labor calls for clarity on response
Meanwhile, federal Labor has called for clarity and consistency in how Australia responds to the Omicron COVID-19 variant, as the nation's leaders meet to recalibrate their health response.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese says the inconsistent state responses have been confusing.
New study finds Omicron variant may protect against severe infection
The study, led by scientists at the Africa Health Research Institute in Durban, is yet to be peer reviewed, but experts say the results are promising.
The results of the study showed participants developed an antibody response to Omicron that increased 14-fold over the two weeks.
Rapid antigen test supply worries
As COVID-19 case numbers soar, the tests are selling out in some parts of the country, with warnings it could take until the middle of February for the rapid antigen tests to be widely available in Australia.
The CEO of Pathology Technology Australia Dean Whiting says with global demand so high, it will take some time to get enough tests into the country.
Both New South Wales and Victoria have more than 80 million on order and plan to supply them for free.
Record numbers of COVID-19 cases and interstate travel requirements have led to a shortage of the tests across the country.
The federal government has also assured Australians that it will take "strong, clear, swift" action against any price gouging surrounding the rapid antigen tests.
There are reports the tests are being sold for more than double their usual retail price.
"We will have a discussion with the suppliers to make sure there is no price gouging," Mr Hunt said.
"If there were, as we did last year, we would take strong, clear, swift action."
UK pledges $195 million to help vulnerable nations fight Omicron
Britain has pledged $195 million (105 million pounds) to help vulnerable nations cope with the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus.
The government said the money would go towards measures helping to reduce transmission, increase testing and boost oxygen supplies.
"The UK is providing vital assistance to help tackle the spread of new variants around the world," Foreign Minister Liz Truss said in a statement.
"This is key to securing our freedom and ending this pandemic once and for all."
US sets new daily case records
The United States is smashing its daily COVID-19 infections records, two years into the pandemic.
In January, the country was reporting 250,000 cases per day. That record has now been eclipsed, with close to 270,000 infections being tallied per day now.
Deaths have climbed over the past two weeks from an average of 1,200 per day to 1,500, but so far, all indications suggest vaccines are preventing severe illness from the new strain.
In Europe, restrictions have changed
- France has mandated the wearing of masks on the streets in Paris from Friday, as case numbers soar in the capital
- Spain is reducing its isolation period for COVID-positive cases from 10 days down to seven
- Germany's Health Minister says the number of new COVID-19 cases has been under-reported and is actually two to three times higher than the official figure.
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