Another 26 people have died in Australia with COVID-19.
Ten COVID-19-related deaths were reported on Thursday in Queensland, seven in Victoria, five in NSW, three in South Australia and one in Western Australia.
The numbers come as NSW recorded more than 20,000 new cases.
The number of COVID-19-related deaths in the state has now surpassed 2,000.
Authorities are warning the state is on the cusp of a surge not seen since the Omicron wave hit hard in summer.
The 20,087 new cases announced by Health NSW on Thursday is lower than the 30,402 the previous day.
However, that figure was artificially inflated by a data glitch that included about 10,000 unreported rapid antigen tests (RATs) from Sunday and Monday.
The previous day's tally was 10,689 after the state recorded successive weeks of numbers under that benchmark.
There were five new COVID-19-related deaths in NSW in the 24 hours to 4pm on Wednesday, bringing the total number of people who have died with COVID-19 in the state since the start of the pandemic to 2,001.
There are 1,036 patients in hospital, including 34 people in intensive care and 17 on ventilation.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard is warning cases are expected to double next month as the new highly transmissible Omicron sub-variant BA.2 takes off.
Apart from Wednesday's glitch, the latest daily tally is the highest since January 23, when 20,324 cases were recorded.
Mr Hazzard says the same researchers who correctly predicted the Omicron summer surge are forecasting another wave of cases fuelled by the BA.2, that will peak next month.
Acting Chief Health Officer Marianne Gale says BA.2 will be "by far the dominant strain in NSW" within weeks.
Mr Hazzard said the health system remains under strain, with more than 2,000 NSW Health staff forced to isolate with the virus.
He remains concerned that around two million eligible people are yet to receive their crucial booster vaccine.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard says the health system in his state remains under strain. Source: AAP
NSW Health reports 57.6 per cent of adults have received a third vaccine dose — that's 61.5 per cent of the eligible population.
Just over 79 per cent of children aged 12 to 15 have received two doses and 48.6 per cent of children aged 5 to 11 one.
Former Australian Medical Association president Kerryn Phelps is also warning against complacency, stressing the medium- and long-term affects of the virus can be serious.
"There's this crazy notion out there that the pandemic's over ... the pandemic is not over," she told Sydney radio 2GB on Thursday.
"We need to be looking beyond deaths and hospitalisations.
"We are only now after two years starting to understand what the short-to-medium-term implications are for some people."
While children might only have mild symptoms, the disease has unknown implications for their cognitive development.
"We are seeing children with long COVID, people of all ages who are developing fatigue, generalised pain, brain fog and other disabilities," she said.
Victorians told to expect difficult winter
The combination of flu and COVID-19 is set to create a difficult winter, Victorians are being warned.
Premier Daniel Andrews on Thursday would not give a timeline for the removal of the remaining few coronavirus public health measures, including masks for hospitality and retail workers and some primary school students.
"At this stage I've got no advice that we'll be able to take off those mask rules," he told reporters.
"We are open and things are closer to normal than they have been for a long time."
However, as the more contagious BA.2 sub-variant of the Omicron coronavirus strain starts to dominate in the state, the government has been pushing for people who have not yet had a third dose of vaccine to do so ahead of the colder months.
"Winter will be challenging, it always is whether you've got a pandemic or not, flu for instance, always knocks our health system around every single winter," Mr Andrews said.
However, Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said it was time for the state to do away with masks completely and "move on" from the pandemic.
"How's it fair that there's 60,000 people at the MCG, sanctioned by the state government, but kids in primary school in grades four, five and six are wearing a mask? That's ridiculous," Mr Guy told reporters.
Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll on Thursday confirmed he had contracted COVID-19 after his daughter tested positive on Saturday.
Mr Carroll said he was managing his symptoms and his daughter was doing well.
His positive result comes after Health Minister Martin Foley went into isolation on Wednesday afternoon after a family contact contracted the virus.
The state reported seven deaths and 9,752 new cases on Thursday.
There are 197 people in hospital with coronavirus, including 23 in intensive care with four on ventilators.
10 new COVID-19-related deaths in Queensland
Queensland has recorded another 10 COVID-19-related deaths and 7,190 new cases as the premier confirmed a family fleeing the Ukrainian conflict is staying at their quarantine facility.
The new virus cases emerged after 9,811 tests across Queensland in the 24 hours to 6.30am on Thursday.
There are 263 patients being treated for COVID-19 in hospital and another 19 in intensive care.
The latest COVID-19 numbers emerged as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said a three-person Ukrainian family fleeing Russia's invasion of their home country was at the state-funded Wellcamp facility near Toowoomba.
Ms Palaszczuk said the unvaccinated family was in the process of seeking an exemption in order to exit the quarantine camp.
Meanwhile, the premier reiterated that mask mandates would remain for now, warning that COVID-19 was "still with us".
"I thank Queenslanders for going out and getting vaccinated," she said.
"COVID is still with us. Although not much is said about it these days, it is still there and tragically people are still losing their lives.
"We want people to continue to be safe and that is why the mandates are staying at this point in time."
Masks are still required on public transport and in hospitals, disability care, prisons, aged care, airports, and on planes in Queensland.
The latest figures show that 93.20 per cent of eligible Queenslanders have had one dose of a vaccine, while 91.35 per cent have had two.
What's happening elsewhere?
South Australia has reported another big jump in COVID-19 infections to 4,474, along with three more deaths.
One-hundred-and thirty-two people are in hospital with COVID-19, with eight in ICU and three on ventilators.
Tasmania recorded 1,859 new cases. Twenty-five people are in hospital with COVID-19 in the state, including three in ICU.
The ACT recorded 1,311 new cases. Thirty-nine people are in hospital, including three in intensive care and one on a ventilator.
Western Australia recorded 7,151 cases over the past 24 hours, and one death, a woman in her 80s. One-hundred-and-forty people are in hospital, with four in ICU. The total number of active cases in WA has grown to 31,211.
The Northern Territory recorded 241 new cases, while 23 people are in hospital and two in ICU.
