Hundreds more people were admitted to hospital with COVID-19 in the past week, amid warnings millions of people will need long-term care from the virus.
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There were 2272 people in hospital with COVID-19 as of April 28, a 13 per cent jump on the previous week.
A further 113 people have died with the virus, but the number of new cases has stagnated following a spike in the past two months.
There were about 29,000 new cases reported nationwide in the week ending April 28, slightly down on the previous week.
However, residential aged care continues to battle active outbreaks in more than 400 facilities.
Millions will need long-term care from COVID-19
The World Health Organisation's Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a media briefing on April 26 about one in 10 infections resulted in post-COVID-19 conditions.
"Suggesting that hundreds of millions of people will need longer-term care," he said.
Dr Tedros said the emergence of the variant XBB.1.16, known as Arcturus, demonstrated the virus was still changing, and "capable of causing new waves of disease and death".
"We remain hopeful that sometime this year, we will be able to declare an end to COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern," he said.
"But this virus is here to stay, and all countries will need to learn to manage it alongside other infectious diseases."
Worldwide reported deaths from COVID-19 have dropped 95 per cent since the start of 2023, when the northern hemisphere was experiencing its winter.
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On April 24, Health Minister Mark Butler announced a further $50 million for research into Long COVID, calling it an "emerging health issue" both in Australia and internationally.
Pandemic set-back routine child vaccinations
Dr Tedros also revealed there were rising outbreaks of measles, diphtheria, polio and yellow fever, due to missed immunisations.
It's estimated 67 million children missed out on at least one essential immunisation between 2019 and 2021.
"This dramatic reversal follows almost a decade of stalled progress, and has set back vaccination rates to levels not seen since 2008," Dr Tedros said.
The Australian College of Nursing joined calls for the community to join 'The Big Catch-Up'.
ACN's chief executive Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward said the decline in vaccinations would lead to an increase in preventable diseases in the future.
"I encourage parents who have concerns over vaccines to reach out to primary health care teams and start a conversation about what is right for your family based on facts and medical history," she said.
