There have been more COVID-19 deaths in residential aged care this year than the first two years of the pandemic combined.
Data from the federal health department released this week showed 1088 people in residential aged care died from COVID-19 in 2022.
There were a total of 918 deaths in the centres as of December 31, 2021.
Some 28,028 people have contracted COVID-19 in Australian residential aged care centres since the pandemic started.
The federal health department has been contacted for comment.
Meanwhile, South Australia’s COVID-19 restrictions eased on Friday.
Masks are now only required on passenger transport, planes, indoors at airports, hospitals and community healthcare, residential aged care, disability care facilities and correctional service facilities.
QR check-ins are also only required in hospitals and aged care facilities.
It comes as another 54,094 COVID-19 cases were reported across the country on Thursday, including 17,856 cases in NSW and 10,462 in Victoria.
Another 45 people died from the virus, bringing the national death toll since the pandemic started to 6693.
About 97 per cent of Australians aged 16 and over have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 95.3 per cent are double-vaccinated.
(AAP)
